Mój cień
by WingsofRequiem
Summary: All lights create shadows. All shadows require the light. Without one, the other is empty.
1. Chapter 1

**Cover Photo done for this story by Meynari**

 **Inspiration song for this story is "ЦΣЛУЙ МΣНЯ" by ÑΣVΣR GΣ† U$ΣD †Ø PΣØPLΣ**

* * *

There was no noise. Not a single sound. And yet, she woke up.

She stared up at the ceiling, feeling a sense of emptiness. She was exhausted. Completely and utterly exhausted. Mentally.

She realized that it was near dawn and yet she didn't wish to wake up. Her body was well rested, yet her mind was lethargic.

Luxanna Crownguard was sick of her life. Everyone thought of her as an amazing individual, to be in such a high position and to be so talented at such a young age. Yet, none of them saw through her blindingly bright facade. No one saw how she had to study and practice 18 hours a day in her youth to get to this point of life. No one saw how she had been drilled into the perfect daughter by her father and mother. She realized, only a few months ago, about how her entire life had passed her by. She didn't have a childhood worth remembering. She didn't really even have friends. Her brother was blinded by patriotism. 'For Demacia,' he would always say.

 _For Demacia._

A nation of fascists. A city ruled by fear, by fear of the unknown. Fearing something as wonderful and powerful as magic.

Fearing her, that is, if anyone knew.

She had told absolutely no one about her powers. No one knew, not even her brother Garen. He was too blind for his hatred of magic… If she were ever found out to be a mage, she didn't think even he would come to her aid. No, he would probably be the first to hand her over.

To be executed.

She slipped off the bed, her bare feet touching the cool marble floor as she stood up. She walked over to the window, pushing the curtains aside to stare outside. Out at the skies above the city.

Full of glittering stars. An ever spreading tapestry of sparks. Just like her. She liked to believe that her powers came from a star, just like one of the millions up in the sky. People had all said that when her mother was in labour, there had been a shooting star in the sky, falling across the periphery of night, lighting up the city. Most people took it as a good omen, citing it as blessings of the light upon her birth. Perhaps that's why she had been named after Light.

Perhaps the star that had fallen on that day had ended up becoming her. Being born as who she was today.

If only it knew the shackles it would be born into.

She stepped away from the window, sighing softly as she walked over to where her night robe was. She could not sleep tonight, not when so much was on her mind. She needed to get out, out of this room, out of this house, or else she would drown. She would drown in the air that everyone else breathed to live.

Tying on the satin blue robe, she went over and gently opened the door to her room. All was quiet in the house, the hallways dark. She closed the door behind her, trying to be as silent as possible.

It closed with a small click.

She padded through the hallways of her resplendent family mansion, feeling the emptiness and quiet of the house. It was as empty as how she felt inside. Big, ornate, decorated… But empty, without meaning.

She reached the front doors and exited without incident. Getting out of the mansion was one thing, but leaving the grounds was going to be another thing. There were guards all around, patrolling the outer perimeters of her family's estate. Then again, she didn't really care about it.

She made her way down the path towards the gate, only then realizing that she had foregone shoes and was walking barefoot. But the feeling of the cobbled stone under her bare feet… It was good. It was a feeling, a physical feeling that she could actually register through the numbness surrounding her. Just like the bite of the cold winds gently blowing through the night, rising goosebumps on her fair skin, moving only the very ends of her flaxen hair.

She reached the outer gate, where a guard turned around, surprised to see her. He walked over to her, already speaking, "Miss Crownguard? What's wrong? Why are you outside in your nightclothes? Please, let me escort you bac-"

"I would like to go out for a walk."

The guard was slightly confused and stunned by this sentence, before starting again, "Miss Crownguard, please let me escort you back to your room, it is not safe out at night."

"Do you mean to say that there is a lack of safety in our glorious city of Demacia?" She said, knowing this would get the result she wanted.

The guard sputtered for a few moments, obviously caught by her question, before straightening up. "No… Of course not, my lady."

"Open the gate, I shall return before sunrise."

"Yes, my lady. But I must insist, your brother will not be pleased to hear about this."

The guard opened the gate as Lux's lips curled into a weak smile, her eyes downcast. "Yeah… Add it to the list."

"I'm sorry, lady?"

"Nothing. Never mind." She said, with another bright smile.

The guard only stared at her, still concerned, but she walked through the gate and continued out.

The Crownguard estate was within the part of the city reserved for nobility, and as such, very wide expanses of land were devoted to natural beauty between the houses. Forests, where the nobles could go hunting for pleasure. It was still within the walled confines of the great citystate, but still large enough to be its own little world.

Lux didn't remember when she broke off the road, the rough stone under her bare feet being replaced by harsh gravel and then soft, damp grass. The feeling was… pleasant. This was where she would always sneak off to whenever life felt too much for her, whenever she had nights like this where she wanted nothing more than to run away from all of her problems, from all of these expectations that weighed down on her, from the stress of hiding who she really was from her own family…

Slipping into the forest, she followed the familiar trail that only she knew off, marked by tiny little signs she left on the trees, allowing the starlight drifting in through the gaps in the foliage above to light her way. Finally, she came upon a small clearing, where a little pond lay, the water supplied through underwater tunnels connecting it to a lake farther beyond. The lake was well known to people, but this little pond in this little clearing… This was her little secret.

The whisper of fabric as she untied her robe and slipped it off was the only sound in the clearing, aside from the subtle sounds of water and the distant muffled sounds of forest critters. She had no fear of any dangers here, as the forests for these nobles were well regulated. There were no predators, only prey.

Stepping closer towards the pond, her bra fell to her feet next, and she took a deep breath, filling her lungs to the fullest, tasting the fresh air, relishing the kiss of the cool night sky on her exposed skin. She slipped the last article of clothing off her legs near the water's edge, before stepping into the water. The first step caused her to utter a soft sound as she gasped from the cold. The water wasn't that cold, but there was always that initial shock from the difference.

She slowly waded into the water, allowing herself to adjust to the temperature slowly, delighting in every step as it gave her more and more to feel, to fill that emptiness inside of her, until she was near the middle of the pool, the water up to her neck. Here, she felt a sense of peace. Outside, everything was choking, suffocating, the numbness surrounding her like a black cloud. But here, the water replaced that pressure, that darkness. Here, the water gave her a comforting presence, a pressure on her skin that she could understand, could embrace. It filled that echoing emptiness inside of her by surrounding her with its beautiful embrace.

She took a deep breath, before submerging herself fully underwater. She pulled her head down, curling up under the water, the sounds of the night being ended by the closed silence of water. Yet, even this silence was better. This silence was a good silence, and it drowned out the screams of her mind. She opened her eyes, seeing her hair floating around her face, barely illuminated by the moonlight penetrating the surface of the water.

Her lungs began to burn for air and for a second there, just for a second, she contemplated opening her mouth and taking a deep breath, filling her lungs with the water of the pond she loved so much instead of the oxygen her body depended on…

It would be so easy… Just a parting of her lips…

She raised, her head breaking the surface of the water as she rose up, breathing out and releasing the air that had been trapped in her lungs, replacing it with a fresh breath. She remained still like that, the water dripping off her hair, down her face, as she stared down at the water. It took her a while to register that some of the droplets on her face wasn't from the water.

If only life was as easy as this moment, right now. If only she could always have this peace of mind.

She frowned. There was something suddenly different with the night. A certain kind of…

Silence.

She turned slowly in the water, towards the way she had come from.

And she was greeted by the sight of a man standing there, shirtless, wearing ionian clothes and armor below the waist, splattered with blood and holding a great scythe at his side. And his eyes… one of them was literally glowing at her, a deep crimson color.

"Well, this is a surprise." The man said.


	2. Chapter 2

She stared, partly horrified and partly in awe, at the man standing at the edge of the clearing, just barely lit by the moon. The hard planes of his muscular body cast shadows on his form, further accenting his lines. Blood glimmered on his skin, splattered and speckled on his front. But the scythe he held, that was a the true horror. It was huge, a massive blade with what looked like a half-cast eye set at the base of the blade. He looked like a demonic reaper straight from hell, come to collect souls of the damned.

If she was seeing him, did that mean she was dead? Had she actually opened her mouth underwater instead of merely thinking about it, and drowned herself? Had she ended her own life and this was the reaper who had come to collect her soul?

"Now why is a young woman like yourself out here in the middle of the night?" The man asked. His voice was slightly musical, a faint trace of an accent, with an underlying tone of intent. It was like his words were laced with a hidden lethality to it as sharp as the weapon he wielded.

Her heart pounded within her ribcage, and she was somewhat grateful that the water hid her bare body from this man, or whatever he was. She swallowed, before asking in a low, but steady voice, "Have you come to kill me?"

She saw him cock his head to the side, before he slowly moved his scythe to a more comfortable position, taking a step forward towards her. And then another.

Until he was out of the shadows of the forest edge and fully illuminated by starlight. Lux's eyes widened at the sight of him. What she had thought was armor on his left arm was not armor at all.. It was some amalgamation of flesh and bone, looking like steel armor attached to his very flesh, which was warped into a reddish color underneath the grey plates. It covered the entirety of his left arm, going up to his shoulder, and then branching off into part of his upper left torso, like an infection that had been halted in it's spread. There was also a scar on the left side of his face, around his left eye, which was the one that was glowing with a burning red light, similar to the eye on his scythe. His long black hair was tied up into a braid behind him, hair twice as long as hers.

"Kill you?" He said, again with that cheshire edge to his voice, although his face held no emotions other than mild intrigue and curiousity. "Why, do I have a reason to kill you?"

Lux stayed silent after his response, realizing that if he had said yes, a part of her would've been relieved. She also realized, at that moment, that she honestly had nothing to lose, as she had already had nothing to begin with, nothing but lies.

She looked down at the water, before looking up at him, giving him a sad smile. "Well, I have no reason to live."

This intrigued the man further, she could tell, by the look in his eyes and how his head cocked again. He was about to speak, his lips opening, but then he stopped, as if caught by a second thought. Lux felt goosebumps rising to her skin as a strange kind of whispering filled the air, so quiet that she could miss it if she wasn't paying attention to it. Every beat of her heart drowned out the noise, and part of her was convinced it was only the susurrus of the wind. But there was no wind, and Kayn seemed to be listening to something.

He then looked at her, and offered her a smile. A smile that looked like the one a butcher would give before cutting up his lifestock. It sent another shiver down her spine.

"Well, you are out of luck. I have no plans on feeding Rhaast with the blood of someone unmarked." He said, turning his scythe away as he continued to stare at her. He cocked his head the other way this time as he asked, "You are not afraid… Why?"

Lux didn't know what he meant. Her heart was pounding, so loud she could swear he could hear it. But… Thinking about it, she didn't really have fear in her veins. Her heart was pounding, yes, but there was no paralyzing fear, no shivering anxiety. She was just surprised by him, and figuring out a way to proceed, like a deer caught in front of a hunting party.

"Should I be afraid?" She managed to ask. The man looked at her for a long time, before snorting, as if he found her answer amusing, before turning around and beginning to walk back into the trees. "Go home, girl. The forest at night is no place for a young woman. You never know what demons stalk these trees." He said as he gave her a carefree wave with his human hand.

"Wait." She said, loud enough for him to hear. He paused, at the very edge of the clearing once again, before turning just enough for him to look at her out of the corner of his human eye.

"What is your name?" She asked. She knew it was a stupid question. Judging by how he looked, she knew he had killed today. He might've even killed more than one person today. She wasn't a fool, all the years of her having to live up to her family's expectations meant that she had been forced to be a genius. She could figure out by connecting all the dots.

He was an assassin. And by all rights, he should have killed her the moment he saw her. He should kill her for even asking his name.

"Kayn." He said, before turning back around and walking into the darkness of the trees. He seemed to almost melt into the shadows of the tree rather than walk off, and Lux actually blinked a couple of times to make sure she was seeing properly. But he had vanished, with no trace of him left.

... ... ...

Lux woke up tired. That'd been happening for a while now. She had spent the last thirty minutes lying in bed, staring up at the ceiling. Pondering on what had transpired last night. She had spent another ten minutes in the water, watching, waiting, wondering if the man was hiding just out of sight, ready to come and kill her when she would step out. But he had really left, and after the ten minutes, she had exited the pool, put on her clothes and fled back to her room as fast as she could without running.

She had barely slept for a few hours until sunrise had woken her up. Sighing, she finally decided to pull herself out of bed, which took a lot more exertion that it should've.

An hour later, she had changed into something suitable for a lady at home, and left to join her family for breakfast. Her brother, Garen, was already on the table, eating his breakfast with military efficiency, each movement almost robotic in its monotonity.

He looked up as she entered, and his tense face eased into something softer. "Good morning, Luxanna."

"Good morning, Garen." She said as she joined him at the table, her breakfast already plated and prepared where she usually sat.

"Father had to leave early. There's been a murder." Garen said, continuing to eat his food in between his speech without falter. Lux, however, had been picking up her fork and knife and she tensed up when she heard him, her knife tapping the plate due to the abrupt jerk.

Garen raised his eyes at her again, slight confusion in his eyes. She looked up at him as well, blinking before saying, "That's terrible. Who was it?"

Garen exhaled, shrugging, before returning his eyes down to his food, cutting the egg as he said, "No details yet. But none of the guards report seeing anything. A nobleman merchant slain within his own quarters, in his own home, with no one even seeing anything amiss." His brows furrowed again. "This isn't your average assassination."

Lux felt sick to her stomach. She had been right. The man she had run into last night, with the giant scythe and splatters of blood, was definitely an assassin. And he had been in Demacia to kill someone. She stared down at her food, not even touched, before she put her utensils down and stood up.

"Aren't you going to eat?" Garen asked. Lux shook her head, giving him a polite smile as she said, "Sorry, I'm just not feeling hungry."

Garen stared at her, and she wondered if her brother could see past her stupid facade. If he actually cared enough, to see the dark circles under her eyes, to see how she had lost weight, to see the strained, fake smile she had on her. But he only shrugged and returned to his meal, dismissing her without a single word. Lux's smile turned bitter as she turned around and walked out. What did she even expect?

Everyone around her, who claimed to care about her, were liars. Oblivious to her real pain. No one ever wondered or asked about her wellbeing. Not even her own, older brother. These days, nothing ever felt real. Nothing at all.

Except… Her mind wandered to that meeting earlier in the night, where she ran into the scythe wielding assassin.

Kayn, his name was.

Funny, she met an assassin by chance, a killer who spent his life training in the arts of deception and subterfuge. And yet, that short conversation with him had felt more real than the last few months of her life.

And like a sickness, she realized, the thoughts of him were clouding her mind, and she could not fully push him out of her mind anymore.

Thoughts of a ghostly, smirking face and mismatched eyes haunted her for the rest of the day.


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: I'm pleasantly surprised to see the positive feedback regarding this story. I wasn't expecting such, given that this pairing is, well, very unorthodox.  
Your words and thoughts are always valued. Thank you for your support.**

 **~ Wings**

* * *

The last week had been tortuously slow. There was not much difference with her previous days, except for one.

She was haunted.

The thoughts of that fateful meeting with the shadowy reaper was always in her mind, when she was eating her meals, when she was reading her books, when she was painting on her canvas, even when she was walking in the gardens. She just couldn't get him out of her mind for some reason.

She partly knew the reason. Despite everything, she was still a very curious person. And something like that… It had hooked onto her curiosity. Another reason was, out of everything that had happened to her over the course of the last year or more, that conversation with him felt more real than anything else. She was suffocating, for days, weeks, months. And that meeting with him was like the first fresh breath of air. The first time she could feel undiluted emotions, other than emptiness.

She had caught herself numerous times sketching him. She hadn't gotten a very good look at him due to the darkness, and yet, she was speculating on how he looked. She had only gathered certain features about him, like his mismatched eyes, his messy hair, his narrow yet defined jawline. A crooked smile, arched eyebrows, straight nose. The slightest hint of exotic. A hint of familiarity.

Lux paused and looked down at the sketch of his face in her notebook. His smile looked positively devilish, like a sociopath. Something that should have been downright uncomfortable to look at. But, for some reason, she found a curious kind of liking to it. It was a smile of masks, just like hers. She could tell. She knew.

She sighed, and went back about her day.

Nighttime approached, and a question was being thrown around within the confines of her mind. As the sun set, the question raised in volume in her head. As the night progressed, it had become a tug, a magnetic pull.

She wanted to go back to that spot, her little spot, where she had once believed to be hers alone but now had been exposed. To _him._

She was hoping she would run into him again, although every instinct inside of her told her it was absolutely foolish. The man was an assassin, and would gladly kill her. By some miracle, she had gotten lucky and he hadn't killed her that night. She could not fathom the reasons on why he didn't.

But was she really lucky?  
Hadn't she been contemplating killing herself that very night?  
Hadn't she been hoping he would kill her? To take that choice out of her hands, to make it easier for her?

Was she still hoping for that?

Midnight had come, the day had flown her by. That had been happening a lot lately. It was the same routine for Lux, and hardly anything mattered at all. Life was passing her by while she wasted away here, like a flower without sunshine.

She gritted her teeth, and made the decision.

… … …

She was better dressed this time, wearing a simple white dress that barely brushed her knees as she followed her familiar trail through the forest. A sleeping garment, by all accounts, but at least this was made of thicker cotton and was somewhat modest.

A sharp stab of pain had her hissing as she jumped, raising her right foot. She leaned against a tree as she looked down at her foot, caressing the hurt area on the underside of her foot, feeling the slick blood on the small cut. Maybe coming barefoot through the forest wasn't the best idea, but she loved it too much, the feeling of soil and grass under her feet.

She put her foot gingerly back down on the ground, keeping the injured area off the soil as she half-limped the rest of the way to the clearing.

The moon was high in the air by the time she had reached it, illuminating the area moderately in a silvery glow. It was only a half-moon tonight, and yet its light shone strongly into the area.

The spring in the middle of the clearing had a sheen to it, looking almost ethereal with the refractions of moonlight dancing upon its surface.

Now that Lux was here, she realized one crucial thing. She had come here hoping to run into that man, Kayn, again. However, he was an assassin, who had come to Demacia to assassinate someone. That was why she had met him a few nights ago. Why would he ever show up here again for no reason? The chances of him coming back here was, logically, next to none.

That thought put a damper on Lux's mood, not that her mood was already anything positive. She walked to the spring, feeling extremely stupid at herself for forgetting that. She had come running like a blind fool without even stopping to think.

She gingerly made her way over to the side of the spring, over to where she knew was a very flat rock that was perfect for sitting. Finding it, she set herself down onto it, twisting around and dipping her legs into the water. The rock was quite low, so her legs were submerged almost to her knees.

She breathed a sigh of relief as the slight stinging of her wound was cooled by the water, replaced by a blessed feeling of relief. She sat like that for a while, just staring down at the water, moving her legs in the water absentmindedly. What was she thinking, coming here hoping she would run into him? For such an intelligent person, she could really be naive, thinking that life was something like a fairy tale, that he would show up on the same day she did when she needed him.

She didn't realize she was crying until the tear had already crossed down the length of her face and fallen off, landing on her knee. And after that, the sobs started. Quiet sobs, the sounds of someone utterly defeated and broken. She was stupid. A taste of something real and she chased it like a fool running after a dream.

That was the thing about dreams. If you ran after them, they would fade into smoke, like all dreams. And she, like some daydreaming schoolgirl, had run after hers at the first sign of something different.

The night was quiet, the silence only disturbed by her soft crying. She didn't even bother rubbing the tears away, since they didn't show any sign of stopping. She felt too weak to even raise her hand to accomplish the motion. She just sat there, her arms wrapped around her midriff, head bowed and eyes shut tightly as she sobbed.

Even then, even with all the sadness and self-hatred for being so foolish, a naive part of her hoped.  
Hoped with all her heart, that he would show up. Just like in the stories.

Hoped that he would show up now when she needed him the most. The shadowy assassin who was a complete stranger to her, and yet gave her what she needed a few nights ago. And now she needed it again, like an addict reaching for his poison.

But he didn't show up.

Her crying stopped after half an hour, and she sat there for two more hours. Until she felt the chill of the water finally getting to her, her feet completely numb, shivers breaking upon her pale skin. Only then, she finally relented, bringing her feet out of the water. She tried standing up, but her legs were shaky, numb from having soaked in the cooling water for so long, and she fell after a couple of steps.

She smelled the grass and dirt as she lied there on the ground, her fingers weakly gripping the grass as fresh tears began to roll down her face once more. She lay there for another few minutes, mentally picking up all the shattered pieces of herself while waiting for feeling to return to her legs, before she got back up onto her feet and began to walk back home.

She knew this was bound to happen. The chances of her meeting him again were almost none. Completely none.

And yet, it hurt to have her truths be proven, like it would hurt anyone to have their dreams vanish.

It hurt a lot.


	4. Chapter 4

**As always, thank you for your continued support as well as your thoughts.  
** **I always take your thoughts and criticisms into account to better my own writing.**

 **\- Wings**

* * *

Two weeks.

Two entire weeks, she had spent holding onto a naive impossibility.

Every day, for two weeks, she believed that **THIS,** this would be the day that she would run into him again.

Every night, for two weeks, she went back to the small pond in the forest, hoping that the shadowy reaper would once again show himself.

And every time, for two weeks, she was disappointed, each event creating another crack on her fragile heart of hope.

And after those two weeks, Lux was drowning once again. Her hope had been shattered through the battering of her own naivety. It was pointless. One gasp of air in a lifetime of drowning, not to save her life, but only to give her hope that would be wrenched away again beneath the stormy waves.

But she did not give up. She would not give up. It was her last link to sanity, to holding on to life. It was stupid, foolish even. She was a person adrift in a stormy sea, and she had latched onto the first thing that passed her by.

Even if that thing happened to be a shark.

But, not all was a disappointment. On the morn after her fortnight of dismay, a messenger came to her door with welcome news.

Her friend, one of the only true friends she had in Demacia, had returned from her expedition. This brought perhaps the first true smile to Lux's face. And with it, it brought her clarity. An idea.

The afternoon found Lux in the garden, wearing a simple yet lovely dress of periwinkle blue and white. A dress befitting her as a noble, yet casual for a stroll in the royal gardens. And accompanying her was none other than Quinn.

Quinn was dressed in a simple tunic and pants. Despite the fact that she was a woman, Quinn had always preferred to wear the clothes of a man in most situations. Form over fashion, as she always put it.

The past half hour had been pleasantries between the two friends. Quinn was, perhaps, one of Lux's only true friends here. She was the only one who didn't judge Lux nor expect anything of her. Their personalities and origins were extremely varying too, Lux being nobleborn while Quinn was commonborn. Their first meeting had been back when they were little girls. Lux was an 'arrogant snot' back then, as Quinn put it, and Quinn had been a 'brash tomboy', as Lux put it.

They had met, they had exchanged words and then Quinn had punched Lux. Fast forward from that, and they became close friends. Funny how that worked.

"So, that's all I've been doing in my travels around the land on this excursion," Quinn said, looking at Lux with an easy smile, "What have you been up to, _Young Lady Crownguard?"_

Quinn mockingly said the last line, because she knew how much Lux hated being that. It was easy teasing that was expected between friends and it brought a rare smile to Lux's face rather than insult her. "Well… There's been developments." Lux said in a small voice.

"Oh?" Quinn's interest was peaked.

"There's this man I met-"  
"Oh a man! Spill all the details, leave nothing hidden!"

"Hold on, hold on! It's nothing like that!"

Quinn laughed as Lux flustered before Quinn motioned for her to go on. Lux sighed.

"He's… unexpected."

Quinn's smile stopped as she detected the seriousness in Lux's voice. "How so?"

"Well… He's not from around here. At all. And I've never met him again except for one time."

"Oh boy. That doesn't sound very pleasant, Lux."

"That's why I'm very glad you're here Quinn."

Quinn looked quizzical, but said nothing, so Lux went on.

"I know you have your… sources on finding people."

"Lux." Quinn said in a low, warning voice. Not that she was warning Lux about anything, but it was more about concern for where Lux was going with this. "Who is this man?"

"He's an assassin."

Quinn was silent, staring at Lux in surprise though her face was the same, her eyes intense. It made Lux slightly uneasy given Quinn's eagle-like eyes. And then Quinn said, "I don't think this is a good idea in the least Lux."

"But yours is going very we-"

"SHHH!" Quinn interrupted her, looking around cautiously, before scowling at Lux. "You want the whole kingdom to know, dummy?" She said in a lowered but angry voice.

"Sorry." Lux admonished in a low voice as well, before going on, "Well… I was hoping you or Talon could help me find this man…"

"By the void, Lux, I reaaaaally would advise against this idea." Quinn said. "You can always find another guy. You know, one who doesn't kill for a living."

"But you-"

"I'm an exception, Lux. I'm sorry to play that card, but its true. I'm the closest thing you can get to being a Demacian Assassin. Me and Talon have had a loooong, illustrious history. I can't even count how many times we've come close to killing each other, while **attempting** to kill each other." Quinn said, utterly serious now. "You're not me, Lux. And he's not Talon. What's to say this man sees you as anything at all?"

"I know the risks, Quinn, I swear. I've spent the last two weeks dwelling on it." Lux said, searching her friend's face. "Please." She added, pleadingly.

Quinn looked torn, looking at her friend who was pleading with her for her help. Quinn clenched her fists before looking away, sighing in defeat. "Fine. I know a guy who is in the… channels. But Lux." Quinn looked at Lux again, with severe eyes. "You must promise me, _**promise,**_ that you're not going to do anything stupid. Alright? If I find any sign, any at all, about your life being in danger because of this, I will not hesitate to go to your brother about this."

"Quinn!"

"I'm sorry Lux, but I'm not going to risk the life of my best friend over her infatuation! I'm helping you with what you asked, but I will step in and do whatever it takes to protect you. You can't blame me for doing that Lux, you know you'd do the same if our places were reversed."

"I-" Lux paused, defeated, knowing that Quinn had a very good point. "Alright, that's fair." Lux admitted.

Quinn drew Lux in for a hug, and Lux hugged her tightly as well. "I hope you know what you're doing, Lux."

"I do. I'll be safe, I promise you Quinn. Thank you."

…

The next day, Lux dressed up in inconspicuous clothing. Brown pants, a dark tunic and a cloak over her shoulders that had a hood to hide her features. She left her estate's grounds on horseback, pulling her hood up once she was out of the noble's area, heading into the city proper.

She passed through the streets of Demacia, the city of Marble and Order. Even in the city, everything was clean, pristine, the very picture of perfection. But even such a 'perfect' city like Demacia had it's underbelly.

The Warrens, as they were called, was near the outer edges of the city while still being within its great walls. The changes in the buildings and roads were clear. Wide, straight roads of white stone gave way to winding, uneven cobbled streets. Large buildings of stone and glass turned into wooden shacks. Well dressed and perfumed pedestrians turned into unkempt and unclean peasants. The environment around her worsened as she travelled deeper into the warrens.

Finally she found the tavern that Quinn had directed her to. ' _The Lost Patrol'_ it was called. Ironic, in a way. It was a dingy, lowset building of wood and stone. She tied her horse at the nearest horse post and made the rest of the way to the tavern on foot. Despite the conditions of life in the warrens here, crime was still low. People here were poor and unclean, but they weren't criminals. There was very little risk of muggings or murder. So Lux had no fear to walk through the place. Everyone was walking about, minding their own businesses and going about their own lives.

She opened the door to the tavern, attracting the attention of a few patrons, who looked away after giving her a cursory glance. She walked in, wrinkling her nose under her hood. It smelled of stale ale and sweaty bodies in here. She let herself adjust to this… environment, as she walked over to the bar. A scarred bartender was in the process of cleaning a mug behind the counter, looking up at her as she approached. Despite his scarred face, bald head and obviously muscular form, he had a kindly face as he offered her a hospitable smile.

"Evenin' lass, what shall ye be 'aving? He said to her, the commoner's dialect heavy in his accent.

Lux glanced to her sides, making sure no one was overhearing, before she repeated what Quinn had told him, " Metal claws, sweetened jaws."

The bartender rose an eyebrow at her as his friendly demeanor shifted away to something more neutral. He cocked his head towards the stairs as he said, "One floo' down, doo' at teh end."

Lux nodded and left behind a single gold coin on the counter, as instructed by Quinn, before walking off towards the destination the bartender had directed her to. She felt his stare following her and worked very hard to maintain a steady walk, despite her innards feeling like jelly. She was very out of her element in here.

Walking down the stairs, the din of the bar above her faded into a muffle background noise as she entered an underground hallway with many doors. The smell of sweat was stronger here as she heard muffled sounds from the doors she passed.

She didn't need three guesses to figure out what those sounds were being caused by.

She walked down to the end of the hallway, where a solid wooden door barred her path. She knocked on it as Quinn had instructed her. Three raps, pause, two raps, pause, three raps.

She then waited. A few seconds later, there was a sound of a deadbolt being pulled open as the door opened, and she came face to face with a very large man, armored and armed quite unlike a soldier. The guard looked her up and down, before stepping aside for her to enter. She stepped into a very unexpected office room, furnished like one would expect a noble's office to be. A carpeted floor, mahogany furniture. A large desk, behind which a man in very find clothes sat.

"Ah, a patron. Welcome, welcome!" The man said, standing up with an easy grace and gesturing to the seats on the other side of the desk. "Please, have a seat."

Lux walked over and sat down on the seat offered, the man waiting for her to be seated before he sat down as well. He had noble-like features. A thin, dignified face with high cheekbones, cropped hair that was greying at the sides and a pair of small reading glasses.

"Now, what can I help you with, miss?"

"I need your services to find me a man." She said, willing her voice not to waver. She was very close to her goal.

"Certainly, that is the services we offer, though it is a service."

"I can pay." Lux said simply.

The man gestured with his hand for her to go on, while also saying, "Who do you wish to find?"

"An assassin, most likely Ionian."

There was a few moments of silence as the man behind the desk studied her, before straightening.

"Why would a woman like you require an assassin? Please be informed that we reserve the rights to deny service to anyone who might have an affiliation to law or othe-"

"I wish to hire him. I wish to buy a Death Mark."

Silence.

The man leaned forward.

"Young miss, I would implore you to think very, very hard about this decision. A Death Mark is not something one should buy lightly. You are sanctioning the death of a person. This is not an attempt at someone's life, you _will_ be taking a person's life." He said seriously.

"I am completely sure of my decision, sir. I have had a lot of time to think about this."

The man remained silent, staring at her despite the fact that he couldn't see her face properly due to her hood. Despite that, Lux held his scrutinizing stare.

"So be it. Who do you wish to hire."

"Do you know of an Ionian Assassin called Kayn?"

The man scratched his chin as he thought. "Yes, I am aware of him. But you should know his fee does not come cheap. He is part of an order that is one of the best in Valoran, and he is one of the best in that order. You cannot back out of this deal once you take it, or it will be your end."

"Gold is of no issue."

"Alright. I will take a small fee as commission, the rest shall be paid by you to the assassin after the deed is done." The man brought out some documents and began to sift through them. "And who would you like to hire the Mark on?"

Lux paused. This was it. This was the moment she had been preparing for ever since she decided to ask for Quinn's help. She had lied awake all night thinking on this matter, on this decision. Once she spoke the words, there was no going back. Not only would she be committing perhaps one of the biggest mistakes in her life, but she would also be breaking her promise to her dearest friend. The very friend who had helped her set this meeting up. If anything went wrong, she would be damning her friend to a lifetime of guilt.

Lux took a deep breath, bringing out the payment for the man's services as she spoke resolutely.

"Luxanna Crownguard."


	5. Chapter 5

**Some chapters are intentionally short, like this one.**

 **Its so I can group up dramatic moments and low moments in separate chapters, and keep a pace of the story.**

 **Also so you guys can get better regulated updates.**

 **Enjoy**

 **~ Wings**

* * *

"I will be away for a week."

Garen looked up from his strategy table, pieces representing armies and forces laid out across a map of Valoran. His eyes met Lux's stare as she stood at the door to his study.

"Where and why?"

"I will be staying in the townhouse within Perravi Commons. I just want to be closer to the bustle of the capital for a while, I guess. It's too quiet here and I want a break." She said, looking at him. Garen tilted his head before he straightened up to his full height. He walked around the table and approached Lux, who stood, staring at him. Her heart skipped a single beat in anxiety as she wondered if he had found out anything or would say no to her.

But instead, he stopped in front of her. He gave her a warm, brotherly smile and put one of his massive hands on the top of her head, giving her an affectionate pat. "That's alright Luxanna. You go and have fun for a while."

A bit of Lux's heart broke at that as she suddenly felt tears coming into her eyes. Despite how distant Garen was with Lux as a brother, he was still her brother. He might not have been the best, but he had still loved her. Taken care of her. Memories of him and her at younger ages flashed in her mind, where he would always protect her and take care of her whenever their parents weren't around, which was often. A part of Lux would always love Garen as her big brother, despite the fact that Garen no longer knew who she was or no longer put in the effort to do so. But this still showed that he still cared about her, and he still tried at times, even if it was poor attempts. It made her feel wretched for what she had done, for what she would do.

She suddenly rushed forward and hugged Garen, burying her face into his chest. Garen was surprised, taken aback, but then managed to wrap his arms around her back and hug her back. "Hey, what's gotten into you?" He asked in a gentle voice. For a moment, his entire armor of Vanguard General fell away, melting away to nothingness to reveal the kind, caring brother he was within.

"Nothing… I just…" Lux said, muffled by Garen's shirt. She took a deep breath and stepped away, fixing a smile on her face. "I just felt like I don't hug you as much as I should, big brother."

Garen's eyes softened as a rare, kind smile came onto his face. "Do not worry about it, Little Light." He said, using the nickname he used to call her as children. He patted her again and Lux accepted it, wiping her eyes once more before excusing herself. She left without looking back, because she knew she would cave in and confess everything if she stayed.

…

The ride took her an hour before she reached the Perravi Commons. It was a noble's area of the city, with large, well decorated buildings belonging to both higher and lower nobility, but no royalty. She reached the townhouse as she tied up her horse at the nearby stables. She took her key out from her belt and unlocked the door. Opening it, she stepped inside and turned on the hextech lights.

The house was in fine condition despite not having been lived in for years. The housekeepers came by every week to clean it, and they had done so right before Lux had arrived. She would be gone before they came again.

She was here. Now, all that was left was to wait. She had the whole day.

She spent the next two hours cooking food for herself. It felt freeing, to go out and buy food from the market herself, to come home and make her own dish. She wasn't very good by any means, but it was still a relishing experience. Having eaten her fill, she walked into her bedchamber, and perused the bookshelves until she found a nice story to read.

She took the book and placed it upon one of the lounge chairs, taking a few minutes to prepare and light the fireplace. Content and cozy, she relaxed on the lounge chair and began to read.

…

For some reason, Lux found herself waking up. There had been no sound, aside from the fire crackling low in the fireplace. The room was dark, bathed in a low orange glow by the fire, the night sky visible outside through the windows. She shifted in her position a bit, slowly waking up as she straightened up. She had fallen asleep on her chair next to the fire, the book still on her lap. She stifled a yawn, pushing her golden hair back behind her ear. She wondered if it was just the fire crackling that had woken her up or if she had just woken up naturally.

"You know, I had thought there was something special about you when I first saw you." A voice said behind her.

She froze. It was a familiar voice, laced with edge like a razor blade, slightly musical with its accent. She looked to her right, and in the middle of her room, barely lit by the fire, stood Kayn, standing in his full height with his great scythe held to the side. His eyes locked onto hers, the mismatched colors just as she remembered it, as there was a certain kind of amusement in his face.

The amusement, however, died, as he then looked at her seriously and said, "But I didn't think that specialty about you was 'especially stupid.' I do hope you have a good explanation."

She was silent, still absorbing the fact that he was finally here, along with all the ramifications of her actions. There was no turning back at this point. She swallowed, before saying, "A good explanation for what?"

Kayn's eyes narrowed, as he threw a scroll of paper at her. It landed cleanly on her lap, and as she opened it, she saw that it had a large, intricate symbol on it, colored black. Nothing else. She looked back at him and saw Kayn still focused on her with a predatory lethality, and something else… Disappointment? Anger? And then, he spoke, in a tone akin to insulting.

"A good explanation for why you ordered a death mark on yourself."


	6. Chapter 6

**As always, leave your thoughts and suggestions in the reviews**

 **"Remember me" by Eiv** ø **r**

 **~ Wings**

* * *

She was still seated at her perch, her feet not responding to her mental desires to move. She opened her mouth, her soft pink lips parting, yet no sound coming out of her tight throat, the words dying before they even breached coherency. She only managed to stare mutely at the man standing at the shadow's edge, the distance between them so much shorter compared to the last time.

She could now see him so much clearer, despite the shadows wreathed around him like a second cloth. Was it just her eyes playing tricks on her, or were those shadows on his body actually… moving? She stared at the face, which was currently glaring at her with contempt, mismatched eyes focused solely on her. The scar upon his face did nothing to take away his unusual handsomeness, with the soft angles but hard lines of his face. He was yet again shirtless, and his left arm was moderately visible in the dark, the armored-looking limb barely catching the light of the fire. He was wearing Ionian clothes, and his accent was ionian as well, but his face was definitely not Ionian. She couldn't place her finger on it.

Kayn huffed through his nose, obviously impatient with her silence. "You've put me in a real predicament here, _girl._ You're probably the first person stupid enough go in disguise and order a death mark on herself. So here's the predicament." Kayn said, as he suddenly turned around, moving his arms. Within a second, Lux suddenly found herself face to face with the giant blade of a scythe, aimed right at her throat. It was inches from her, if she leaned forward she could touch it with her chin. She froze, her breath catching in her throat.

"I kill you, I complete my mark. I get my payment, I go back to my Order and resume my daily life. The payment is made by the client once the mark has been completed. Problem is, you're the client. I kill you, I am simultaneously completing and betraying my mark. I don't get paid, and I get dishonoured for breach. So you've put me in a real bind here and I'm hoping you have a very good explanation for it, or I'll kill you just for spite." He said, narrowing his eyes at her. The room seemed so much colder all of a sudden, despite the fire still glowing within the fireplace.

Lux swallowed as she finally managed to find her words. With effort, she parted her lips, and the barest breath of a whisper passed out from her lips.

"Do it."

Kayn's expression faltered, his annoyance and anger replaced by incredulity and confusion. "What?"

Lux swallowed again, feeling a tear exit the corner of her left eye, although no sobs broke through her. "I do not want to live. I want do die."

Kayn stared at her, the expression of disbelief still on his face as he lowered his scythe away from her throat. He closed his eyes and turned around, letting out a loud, exasperated sigh. He then turned around to fix his gaze on her again, and then asked. "Alright, what do you want?"

"I want to die."

"No. You don't. You want something else."

"No."

"Yes." Kayn said as he let go of his scythe. Lux didn't see the scythe fall, or hear the sound of it, because Kayn charged at her with a very brisk walk. Fear rushed into her veins reflexively as Kayn grabbed her, his human hand grasping her throat, his demonic arm grabbing her under her shoulder. He picked her up and flung her around into the nearby wall, forceful yet pulling back partly at the last second so the impact of the wall hit her back with a solid thump rather than a painful slam. He held her there, his hand not choking her throat, but more so holding her there, his other hand holding her up so she didn't choke on his hand because of her weight. Her feet dangled helplessly inches off the floor.

"You do want something." He said, his face close to hers, staring into her eyes with an intensity she couldn't describe. "What do you want?"

"I want to die."

His grip weakened, but only on her shoulder. She sagged slightly due to the slack, her throat suddenly constricting slightly due to her weight on the hand at her throat.

"What do you want?"

"I want to die."

His grip loosened again, and now Lux was finding it difficult to breathe. Her hands came up, grabbing onto the wrist of the hand that held her throat. "We can keep playing this game until you tell me or until you choke. What do you want."

"I want to die."

"What do you want?"

"I want to die."

He had almost let go of her shoulder now. All her weight was now being held by the arm at his throat, and her own hands struggling to hold herself up. But she was slowly choking, the muscles in her arms burning. His expression didn't waver. His voice was still low and focused.

"What do you want, Luxanna, tell me?"

"I told you, I want you to kil-"

"What do you want?"

"I keep telling you!"

"What do you want?"

"I want you to end me!"

"What do you want?"

"I WANT TO LIVE!" She screamed, her fingernails digging into his arm. Kayn stared at her, releasing her as she dropped the few inches back onto the floor, gasping for breath, fresh tears falling out of her eyes. He continued his silent stare as she massaged her slightly bruised throat, looking up at him, tears shining on her cheeks yet the gaze in her eyes both resolute and hopeless.

"I want to die, Kayn. I really do." She said, as more tears broke out of the corners of her eyes. "But first I want to live. I spent the last ten years existing for the sole sake of pleasing my father, my mother, my brother. Pleasing all the hypocrites in the demacian nobility. Existing, just so I could be used as a trophy on my family's wall. Existing, in fear, for being found out as a mage and put to death by my own family. I existed, Kayn. I survived, in fear."  
She wiped her eyes with the back of her hands before looking at him again. "And now I'm tired. I'm tired of trying to be what I'm not. I don't want to do this anymore. I want it all to end, but first of all, I want to live. Even if it's a lie, I've lived a lie my entire life. Even if it's just for a little while, I want to live before I die. And I don't even know why you, or what lead me to doing this stupid crazy act, or what caused us to meet that night. I don't know why I didn't report you to the guards right after, and I don't know why you didn't kill me that night. All I know is that you are the first real person I've met in years, and probably the only one who could give me what I want and what I need?"

Kayn silently stared at her, the expression on his face impossible to tell, stony and unmoving.

"And what is it that you want and need?"

"I want to live… But I need to die." Lux said finally, closing her eyes and taking a deep, shaky breath. She straightened up slowly as she opened her eyes and looked up at him. "Seven days, seven nights. I want to live. I want you to show me how to live. I want to see all there is to life that I have missed in the years of my existence. After seven days and seven nights…" She took another breath, steeling herself, "I will give you your due payment, and you will complete the Death Mark, with no betrayal or dishonor."

"Seven days and seven nights?" Kayn said, his words more like a statement than a question.

"Yes, that is the terms of my contract." Lux said, trying to look as dignified as she could while staring up at a hardened killer who towered above her. It was a wonderful image in her head; the small, innocent maiden face to face with the shadowy reaper of death itself, bargaining a contract.

Kayn seemed to think about it for a few seconds, a look of dark foreboding on his face, before he reached behind his back, and drew a knife. For a second, Lux thought he would just slit her throat and be done with it here and now. But, he switched the knife into his left hand, brought up ups right hand and sliced a line across the center of the palm of his hand. "I accept the terms of the contract." He said, offering her the knife.

Lux hesitated, before taking the knife from his hands. It looked like a small weapon in his hands, but in her delicate hand, it seemed large and unwieldy. She turned over her left hand and, after hesitating for a second, made a quick slice across her own palm, similar to his. She flinched momentarily in pain, before watching the crimson line come to life on her palm. She offered her bleeding hand to him, and he clasped his bleeding hand onto hers, their wounds touching, their blood mixing.

"It is done." He said, as he took the knife back from her. "First light. Be awake." He said to her, as his armored hand came up to her face, slowly to reassure her he wasn't about to hit her. He covered her eyes, forcing her to close her eyes by reflex. She held her breath, and after a second, the pressure on her face and eyes lifted. She opened her eyes, blinking as she looked around the room.

Kayn was nowhere to be seen. There was no a single sign of him left. The fire was dying within the fireplace now, bare embers flickering. Her book was on the floor in an undignified manner. She would've thought she had dreamed or hallucinated the whole thing were it not for the slight sting. She looked down at her left hand.

The red smear of blood shone brightly against her fair skin. A symbol of her sin. The greatest sin of all.

Her fate was sealed.


	7. Chapter 7

**Real story starts from here.**

 **Reviews are appreciated.**

 **~ Wings**

* * *

It was dawn when Lux found herself awake in an unfamiliar room. Well, it took her a few moments to clear her bleary vision before she recognized the room as her bedroom in the townhouse. The events of the previous night came flooding into her mind as Lux fully grasped the horror of what had transpired, and what she had done.

And today was the first day of her last seven.

 _Oh light._

The horror on her mind wrenched painfully in her gut as she threw off the covers of her bed, running and stumbling into the adjoining bathroom, barely making it to the porcelain bowl before she retched, the shock of her actions and the horror of her impending doom making her violently sick.

She retched numerous times, voiding her stomach of the half-digested food she had eaten on the previous day, a few more dry heaves following the vomiting with no more coming out of her before her stomach calmed. She sat there, her face braced against the seat as she panted, cold sweat on her skin. She closed her eyes, spitting out the remnants of bile from her mouth as she reached up blindly for the chain, drawing her face away as she flushed her vomit away.

Managing to find her feet, she stepped over to the wash basin, washing her face as well as rinsing her mouth and throat clean of the acrid taste. She took a moment to inspect her reflection on the mirror, her pale face, the dark circles under her bright blue eyes, her golden hair which seemed to always shimmer even in the dark.

She walked out of the bathroom, her stomach feeling tender yet empty, knowing she needed some food to replace the void there, as well as water to wash away the rest of her throat and to sooth her parched mouth.

Exiting her bedroom, she went down the stairs to the ground floor, her bare feet barely making any noise on the wooden steps. She was so preoccupied with her thoughts that when she walked into the kitchen, she almost didn't notice the man sitting at the dining table. She yelped momentarily in surprise, breaking the man out of his own thoughts as he opened his eyes. Mismatched colored eyes met hers as Lux recognized the man as Kayn.

Kayn was wearing the outfit of a typical Demacian swordsman, not a guard or a soldier, but rather looking like some noble who partakes in the art of combat. He wore a dark jacket of leather, covering both of his arms, including the demonic looking one, over a blue tunic. A glove somewhat covered his left hand, further covering up his arm, although she was certain that his sharp, armored fingers were actually his own fingers rather than part of the glove. However, it simply looked like a mailed fist. His long hair was tied into a braid and hidden beneath his shirt, disappearing behind the collar, so it looked like his hair was much shorter than it really was.

All in all, he looked like a very average warrior, perhaps of mixed breed given his non-demacian features, but nothing that warranted scrutiny or alarm. Lux was actually very surprised to find how… ordinary he looked. The scar on his face now simply looked like one of many battle scars you'd expect to find on a hardened warrior. There was no sign of his demonic looking scythe, however. Her eyes met his and she realized that he was looking her up and down as well.

It was only then she realized that, as she had expected the house to be empty, she had come downstairs dressed in a flimsy, pale colored shift that barely brushed past her mid-thighs, leaving little to imagination about the shape of her body while also baring all of her arms and most of her legs. As she had been inspecting him, he had been inspecting her, and as his eyes came up to meet her gaze, she saw flickers of amusement, approval and something much darker. An indolent smirk came onto his lips as she felt her cheeks rapidly heating up.

"What are you doing here? How did you get in?" She said, almost stammering through her embarrassment, yet refusing to move her trembling limbs to cover herself, knowing that would serve no purpose at this point.

He raised his eyebrows and cocked his head at her second question, his eyes flickering with more amusement as if he was silently saying, " _How did I get in? Really? You're going to ask the assassin you hired that?"_ before he said, "I said first light, girl. And here I am."

"That doesn't mean you can just waltz around here, letting yourself in whenever you want!" She said indignantly. Kayn snorted, almost rolling his eyes as he said, "I didn't let myself in. I never left."

Her mouth almost fell open at that as she absorbed his words, as well as the implications that she had slept while in the presence of a highly trained assassin who had been hiding in her house.

This time, Kayn really did roll his eyes as he said, "I thought we had already worked out the contract yesterday, Girl. Besides, if I wanted to kill you, I wouldn't have to wait until you were asleep to do so."

She swallowed at his words, and realized he was right. Her mind was far too jumbled right now to properly figure out what she wanted to say or what she should even say. She couldn't show weakness, wouldn't show weakness. So, she huffed, straightening her back and raising her face, and said "Fine. I'm going to go dress."

It was obvious Kayn found her response far more amusing than threatening as his smirk widened, the same darkness lighting in the depths of his gaze again as he said, "And here I was enjoying the view."

She almost screeched at him, but instead decided to go through with her statement as she turned around and stormed back up the stairs. As she was going back up to her room, she realized two things.

Firstly, she felt more alive and more… natural within this small time frame of being awake than she had in the last few months, perhaps year. It was almost like a dream, and she didn't need to act or put on a mask or anything. It had been entirely natural and unforced, and despite her embarrassment, she felt a rush of happiness at the… normalcy of it.

The other thing she realized was that the dark thing she had seen in his eyes?

It had been desire.

…

Lux stepped outside, brows furrowing for a second or two as she adjusted to the bright morning light, the city of Demacia itself still waking up. She wore a white blouse and dark blue skirt that reached down to her ankles, her blonde hair tied back into a loose ponytail. Kayn was behind her, towering over her in his ruggedly-casual outfit. She had not seen it before since he was sitting, but he was wearing simple black pants and leather boots that reached halfway up his shins. He towered over her, almost a head taller than her. Garen was much bigger, and definitely a lot wider, and yet it felt like Kayn dwarfed her more than Garen did. Unlike Garen, Kayn had this… presence. Garen's entire presence was all focused on his body, like a solid wall. Kayn's presence, however, was invasively large, spreading outwards from him like great wings. Kayn seemed to take up all the space up in whichever room he entered.

Right now, they were outside, and she could still feel the near-oppressive nature of his being spreading out behind her, like a shadow stretching. She glanced back at him, finding a very unconcerned expression on his face as he was looking around at the street. Feeling her gaze, his eyes swiveled to focus on hers, his eyebrows going up fractionally as if to ask her, " _What?"_

She scowled, turning back around as she began walking down the paved road, Kayn following her. They had decided on the story that she, Lux, was taking a vacation, away from her family's estate, in the capital, and that Kayn, whose name would be 'Rhys', was a mercenary who she had hired to be her personal guard for the trip.

"So, where are we going first?" Lux asked as Kayn seemed to think for a moment before beginning to walk. Lux furrowed her brows, slightly annoyed by his demeanor as she caught up with him with a few quick steps before settling down to a speed matching his. As they walked through the streets, Kayn asked, "Have you been eating a lot back home in the mornings?"

Lux blinked as she thought about the nature of his question. A practiced answer came onto her lips, one she would automatically say to anyone who would ask that, but it died in her throat. A moment of clarity occurred when she realized that she didn't need to lie, not anymore. Not to him. She could say whatever she wanted and he wouldn't care, he wouldn't judge her. She was free to say whatever she wanted.

"No. I hate the quiet breakfasts my family have. Mother and father are rarely ever there, and my brother rarely ever talks about anything. It makes me sick." She said as Kayn only glanced at her. She stared back at him, but he simply shrugged it off and turned his gaze forward again. "Good, and I hope you're not too hungry after you threw up, because we're going for a ride." He said as they turned the corner and came up to the posts where Lux had tied her horse. Another horse was beside her white one, a dark brown one, nothing extraordinary about it. Lux didn't know why but she had expected some kind of demonic, scary looking horse, but realized that a literal fell beast for a mount wouldn't be very subtle.

"Wait, where are we going?" She said as they stopped before her horse. Kayn turned around and grabbed her around her waist, and Lux had a moment of fleeting panic. She barely held back a yelp as he plucked her off the ground as if she weighed nothing and placed her on top of her horse.

"I can mount my own horse, thanks!" She said indignantly.

"Out of the city." He said, untying their horses and grinning at her in that strange, lethal way of his that made it look like he was sadistically contemplating about disemboweling you.

"Where?"

"Follow me and see." Kayn said as he mounted his horse in one smooth, practiced motion and set off at a trot. Lux huffed, annoyed at this man. She knew she should be, well, afraid because he was a literal demonic reaper assassin she had hired to kill her, but right now, he was just an insufferable man whose company she was stuck with. Yet, she found it preferable to the company of all the sycophants in the nobility. With that, she followed him.

…

They rode for an hour, out of the city and into the plains on the Kingsroad as Lux's stomach had recovered from its tenderness, now just aching with hunger. Because of her skirt, she had to sit sideways on her horse, and it proved to be very difficult to ride like that at the pace they were going. Finally, in the distance, a small settlement came into view, one of those small villages along the main trade-routes. They rode into the town as Kayn led her to the horse-posts.

She got off her horse before he could come around to pick her up again as they both tied their horses and he led her towards a squat wooden building. She followed, and as he held the door open for her, she realized it was a pub. A village pub, and there were already many farmers and traders inside, having their morning breakfasts to fill their stomachs before a day of work. It smelled… unlike anything she had ever really smelled. It smelled strongly of food and ale and sweat and dirt. Before she could step back out, Kayn entered behind her, and she only bumped her back into him. She realized what he intended to do.

"No way." She in a quiet voice, enough for him to hear but drowned out for everyone else by their own conversations.

"Way." Kayn simply said, stepping around her and leading her through the pub.

Like she had said before, Kayn had a way of filling up every available space in the room with his presence, and this was no different. Eyes all around the pub turned over towards him, and as a result, over to her as the sounds of conversation lowered. Kayn simply made his way to a rickety wooden table near the back and sat down on the stool next to it. Lux looked at the shoddy wooden furniture and fixed a horrified look at him. He simply raised his eyebrows at her. She groaned inwardly as she stepped up and sat on the… stool opposite of him.

She made a small "Eep!" sound as the stool shifted underneath her on slightly uneven legs when she sat down on it, her hand clamping onto the table as she fear she was falling. But it only shifted an inch from her weight and her panic had drawn a few amused laughter, but all of it was good-natured in intent.

" Welcome to real dinin', little lady!" A man nearby said who had seen her stumble, a big, bearded fellow with crinkles around his eyes that evidenced him smiling and laughing a lot. So it was obvious they all knew she was a noble, but they didn't know who exactly she was.

Kayn simply grinned back at the man and said, in an almost perfect dialect matching what you'd expect from a demacian common-born, "Y'know highborn women! A stair too low or too high and they shriek like they're fallin' off a cliff!"

This drew more laughter from the surrounding tables as Lux flushed in humiliation, but she also noticed that the attention they had attracted was falling away now, people more at ease now. They didn't mean her any ill, she realized. They were just amused at her reaction and it was all in good fun. She looked at Kayn and found him smirking at her. She scowled again.

"You know, Girl, you're a sudden far cry from the demure, frightened woman I met yesterday." He said, in a low voice.

"Well… I have nothing to lose, not anymore. So I have nothing to gain from acting like I've been taught to act for all these years." She said, before adding, "Also, it's Lux. Stop calling me Girl."

Kayn's eyes had a gleam to it as he stared at her, before another smirk came onto his lips, "You really are very strange."

"Thanks." She said dryly.

At that moment, a woman in plain clothes and an apron walked upto them. " What'll ye be 'aving 'den?" She asked with a smile that showed crooked teeth.

"The usual." Kayn said before Lux could say anything. The girl nodded and walked off. Lux looked at her, then looked at Kayn, who looked at her. "What?" He asked.

"The usual? What's the usual?" She asked exasperatedly.

"You'll find out." Kayn said, another grin coming onto his face.

She scowled at him before looking around the dingy place. Despite her original unease, this place seemed kind of… homely. But she was still far, far out of her element and felt off-kilter here. She didn't want to seem like one of those pretentious court women, but she had never stepped foot into a common pub. Compared to the perfumed, fine dining establishments that most eateries were like in the noble part of Demacia, this was downright frightening. People were loud, jeering and japing openly and talking with others in other tables. It was like everyone knew each other here, and all the men looked rugged, with large arms built from years of labour work, frayed and worn clothing and unkempt hair.

"So wat's yer story?" The large, cheerful looking man in the next table, who had laughed at her earlier, asked them.

"Oh." Lux said, taken aback slightly by the sudden conversation. "Uh, well…"

"Yer not some noble lass runnin' away with her commoner affair, are ye?" The man said, laughing lightly at first, and then even harder at the scandalized look on Lux's face. Lux gaped, completely red as she stammered over her words, utterly speechless at the man's brash comment, also hearing Kayn chuckle.

"Don't even joke of that, brother." Kayn said as his chuckle died down, although he kept a very friendly smile on his face, which was very unnerving to Lux at how easily he emulated the emotion. "No, I'm simply my lady's guard accompanying her. She wished to experience the common life and I am entertaining her wishes."

Lux closed her mouth, pursing her lips tightly as she nodded. The man grinned heartily at them before saying, "Well, I 'ope you enjoy your time livin' like us! I know we don't have all that fancy-smancy stuff you nobles 'ave up north, but we enjoy our simple lives. A day's work and a full belly is all we fret over." The man said as Lux finally got over her embarrassment and gave him a polite smile.

"Yes, thank you brother." She said, deciding to try to learn how to interact like Kayn had. "Rhys here was very kind to offer help for my wish, and you are kind to offer your well-wishes."

At that moment, the man was addressed from elsewhere, so the man turned away from them, while at the same time, the serving girl walked over to them and placed down two plates and two mugs of ale.

Lux's eyes widened at the food on her plate. A few slices of hard bread, slices of smoked pork and cheese. It was so… basic.

"What, did you expect some kind of royal banquet?" Kayn asked with another amused grin as Lux looked up at him with another scowl.

"No. It looks great." She lied, as she paused, looking around for utensils to use. Kayn stared at her for a while, before chuckling as Lux scowled at him again. "What?" She said.

He simply raised his hand slowly, and then reached down, took the piece of bread in his hand, brought it up and bit down on it, staring at her as he chewed.

She blinked. They were supposed to use their hands? She looked back down at her food.

"What's wrong? Afraid you'll break a nail, your highness?" Kayn mocked as he took brought the mug up to his face.

She glared at him, before rolling up the sleeves of her blouse, and then grabbing the bread. She brought it up and took an aggressive bite out of it, chewing the hard bread angrily as she glared at him, to show him she wasn't some prissy noble woman. She _almost_ threw the bread back down onto her plate, grabbed the cheese, took a bite from it, then reached for a strip of the pork and stuffed it into her mouth as well, chewing hard at the entire mouthful of food. All the while staring angrily at Kayn. She then reached over to the mug, and took a large swig of it.

She was expecting ale. Well, it was ale… But not the ale she was used to.

She choked on the strength and horrible taste of the ale, spilling a bit of it on herself as she set the mug down, coughing and sputtering, barely managing to force herself to swallow the food and drink. "What is this!"

Kayn smirked as he said, "Food and ale." He then took a small bite from the cheese and another from the bread.

Lux grimaced at the food as she sighed. Today was going to be a long day. But, throughout it all, she realized that this new experience was definitely… enjoyable. It was fresh, new, and lively. There was no courtesies or rules or expectations. She could just be herself and enjoy life from a simpler perspective.

"Now that's worrying." Kayn said, as Lux looked up at him. "A second ago, you looked like you wanted to stab someone, now you're smiling. That's never a good sign." He said with another one of his razor-sharp smirks.

Lux simply gave him a genuine smile back as she took another sip of the ale. And this time she didn't choke.


	8. Chapter 8

**As always, reviews are appreciated.**

* * *

Their excursion to the tavern lasted for a while as Lux got accustomed to the easy atmosphere, enjoying herself immensely. They stayed there for what seemed like hours and it was near sunset when they left.

"I'm fine!" Lux said a bit too joyously as she skipped outside, feeling very, very warm from all the ale she had drunk. She had never really drank alcoholic drinks this much as she had tonight. She had wine, but it was only to accent their meals, relying on water for hydration mainly. But here, they only served ale.

Kayn followed her out, an amused smirk on his face as she turned around with a flourish to face him, stumbling a bit. "Of course you are." He said simply.

"Yes, I am!" She said, giving him a wide smile. She felt so happy and warm. Her skin felt fuzzy and the world around her seemed to be tilting left and right slightly.

"Woah." She said as she stumbled again, Kayn putting a stabilizing hand on her shoulder.

"Come on, it's time to go back." He said as she uttered a large sound of disappointment. She was having so much fun here! She wanted to see more!

But alas, they began walking, or in her case, stumbling back towards their horses. Lux struggled to find the stirrups to mount her horse, her feet slipping. Kayn shook his head as he said, "I don't think it's a good idea for you to ride."

"I'm fine!" She said again, this time less joyous and more forceful as she tried, in vain, to mount her horse once more. She heard him sigh, and suddenly his arms grabbed her around the waist again. She uttered a sound of protest as he hoisted her up onto his horse instead of hers. She made to get off, but the world suddenly took a sudden turn around her, and she found herself suddenly flattening against the saddle of the horse, trying not to fall off. She spied Kayn tying her horses' reins to the back of his saddle, before coming over, and in a smooth motion, he hoisted himself up onto the saddle, settling in behind her.

All words of protest died in her throat as she felt him settle behind her, his body a hard wall behind her.

"You're very muscular." She mused out loud as he guided his hands around her to grip the reins of the horse, effectively caging her in so she wouldn't fall off. She realized that she said that out loud, and instead of flustering, she giggled, finding the matter funny for some reason.

Kayn didn't respond, simply spurring the horse into motion as they began to trot out onto the road.

The motion of the horse under her did not sit well with Lux's current state, and she soon found herself struggling not to slip off the saddle. Several times, she did slip, but only slid a bit before Kayn's arms stopped her progress, allowing her to settle back again. It was mainly worse due to the fact that she was side-saddling again, both of her legs on the left side of the horse, her body turned at the waist so she was mostly facing forwards, albeit slightly to the left.

Once they were out of the town, their pace sped up to a faster trot, causing Lux to move up and down rapidly in tandem with the horse's movements. This was normal, but in this case, it was far more noticeable for two big reasons.

One was Lux was feeling very disoriented from the movements.

And another was that every motion caused her to bump into Kayn behind her, which made her keep feeling his body behind her. He really did have a very masculine body, as she had seen that first night he had appeared as well as the second time when they made the contract… He had been shirtless then, and now Lux could very clearly imagine those rippling planes of musculature, rubbing against her back. The motions of the horse as well as their positions also kept causing her hips to constantly rock against his groin.

Lux flushed, realizing how hot her body felt. She was almost sweating underneath her clothes, and these thoughts weren't helping. She didn't know why she was thinking like this, but her mind felt muddy and clouded, and it was very hard to think of something else. Without even realizing it, she had slid backwards on the saddle over time as they traveled, pushing her more against Kayn, until her hips were pressed against his front and her back was almost constantly in contact with his chest.

It was getting harder and harder to think clearly. The voice in her head telling her that this wasn't appropriate or good was dying out, drowned out by the cacophony of sensations and thoughts brought on by the motions, emphasized by the alcohol in her system.

"Girl… Stop." Kayn growled out at her as Lux scowled, turning her head to the left to look up at him over her shoulder. "My name is not 'Girl'." She said with a huff, pressing her hips back onto him on purpose this time just to spite him. His face was set in concentration, but his eyes slid down to look down at hers. Was it just her imagination or was his red eye glowing?

"Lux." He said, baring his teeth more than necessary as he spoke. "Stop."

"I can't help the way the horse is moving me." She snapped, albeit in a small voice. "It's your fault for putting us on the same horse." She added.

He growled at her. A literal growl, much like a large predator's, and it sent shivers down her spine, but not all of it was from fear. Given their contact, she _felt_ the vibrations of his growl through his body into hers. And it caused her insides to do a sort of back flip as she flushed again. Her breathing was getting shallower.

He sniffed the air and then huffed out an exhale, as if trying to rid himself of some smell he scented, but Lux couldn't smell anything, other than horse sweat and the smell of him… He actually smelled nice. Like leather, with the barest hints of lemongrass underneath, although it all had a certain… musky quality to it, that couldn't be explained as anything other than his own unique smell. She found her shallow breaths slowing and deepening as she began to breathe in his smell, finding it very pleasant, involuntarily relaxing further against him. Kayn grunted again, his hands tightening on the reins.

"You smell nice…" She muttered, closing her eyes and leaning her head back against him, resting it on his shoulder, his head coming next to hers.

"You're drunk." Kayn said in a very rough way, more to himself than to her.

"No…" She murmured, her eyes still closed. Her ponytail had come undone some time during the hours spent at the tavern, so her hair was free, most of it trapped between her head and Kayn's chest, although a good amount of it was drifting gently from the wind and their movements.

"You're drunk." He said again, as Lux opened her eyes to look up at him. He looked to be concentrating heavily, looking straight ahead at the road as they rode back towards Demacia. They had slowed their pace, Lux realized, as there was no more jarring motions from the horse. They moved at a moderately slow amble now, which explained why she was able to lean back against him so easily. She focused her gaze up at his face, which was next to hers but still higher given their height difference.. She noted the curve of his sharp jawline, the pronounced cheekbones. His skin looked bronze from the light of the setting sun, and Lux had to admit that he was actually quite handsome. She breathed in the smell of him again, her nose so close to his neck that her exhale washed over his skin. She bit her lip as she felt her insides do another flip.

He seemed to be breathing heavier than before, and Lux curiously wondered why through her alcohol muddled mind. She shifted slightly in his position as she began to slip off the saddle again, and felt the rear of the saddle poking up against her hips. She frowned slightly as she shifted her legs, moving her waist left and right, trying to sit in a way so the rear part of the saddle wasn't poking her in the back.

Kayn growled again, a low rumble, as Lux froze, realizing that she wasn't sitting alone in the saddle, and that Kayn was behind her. So it wasn't the rear of the saddle poking her in the …

She slipped to the right, which was backwards for her since she was sitting sideways due to her skirt, almost falling off the saddle this time, but Kayn caught her again, hooking his arm around her back and waist and hoisting her back onto the saddle.

But his arm didn't go back to the reins, staying there, curled around Lux's waist, holding her against him. Lux blinked, and then sharply inhaled as Kayn's hand relaxed against her waist. Given her angle, his right arm was curled around her back, his hand right below her bellybutton. She wanted to voice an objection, but couldn't find the words for it, or a strong enough will for it as she was severely conflicted over it. She bit her lips as his hand caressed her waist through her clothing, making the soft, ticklish flesh underneath squirm.

His fingers began to move, gripping and loosening on her blouse, slowly drawing it out of her skirt, until the hem of the blouse came out. He gently pulled it up, before moving his hand so it went under her blouse, his rough textured hand splaying itself over her tender stomach. She let out a small whimper, leaning back farther against him, extremely confused by her body's reactions, as well as conflicted, but mostly wanting him to keep going.

He caressed her stomach for a bit, drawing more small sounds from her as she wriggled against him, his stimulation both ticklish as well as pleasant. And then his hand began to move upwards.

She felt his breath heavy and hot on her cheek and neck, and realized his face had tilted downwards, the feeling of the heated air sending shivers down her spine in the most pleasant of ways. She felt his fingers slowly pushing up her brassiere, until his warm hand cupped one of her small, soft breasts. She mewled plaintively, arching her back in response and need to give him better access, a staccato of lights going off in her hazy mind at the sensations of his calloused hands massaging her mound.

"Kayn…" She murmured his name with such a profound sense of need. Thoughts of it being inappropriate was no longer even relevant in her head. Not even the fact that he was a deadly assassin she had hired to kill herself with. No, none of that was relevant right now. The only thing that was relevant was what she was feeling right now, from his hands.

He didn't respond, not vocally, but his hands continued, tweaking one of her peaks between pointer and thumb, drawing another long whimper from her. His fingers tightened its hold, a lot, causing a sharp flare of pain, but overtaken by an even sharper flare of pleasure, like electricity, making her gasp loudly.

He continued to pinch and twist it painfully, drawing more pathetic whimpers and moans from her, before releasing it, his hand hovering for a second before finding its way across to her other breast, repeating his ministrations there. Lux was a squirming, trembling mess, making tiny gasps and moans and whines repeatedly in between her ever quickening breaths.

After he had sufficiently abused her bosom, his hand began to trail down her sternum, no doubt feeling the rapidness of her heart along the way, making its way down her stomach to her waist, finding the clasp of her skirt. He undid the clasp, but not fully, just enough for it to be loose enough to let his hand go under her skirt.

His fingers trailed over the smooth fabric of her smallclothes, causing Lux to let out another pathetic mewling moan, while Kayn uttered another guttural sound of pure desire, because her panties were absolutely drenched between her legs. He began to circle his fingers over her entrance, through the cloth, causing pleasure to strike up her nerves like lightning. She bucked her hips as much as she could in her seat against him, her right arm tangled with his while her left arm tightened around his back, holding herself to him as he teased her.

"Please…" She managed to say in a very breathless moan as Kayn obliged, his hands rising up before pushing his hand underneath her smallclothes. At the first touch, she moaned, quite loudly although she buried her face into his chest, muffling the sound against him, her hold tightening on him as her insides spasmed.

He swore under his breath as he felt how wet she was, his fingers playing around with her nether lips. She felt something inside of her tightening more and more, as did her grip on him, her breath speeding up. A pool of liquid heat was building inside of her, like a star, spinning and gaining light and heat, linked to a certain part of her nethers. It built and built as he stroked, until his fingers found that one spot, and the star seemed to fracture. She uttered a short squeak and bucked her hips, silently begging him.

His fingers caressed that spot above her lips, making her feel like she would have a heart attack with the rate her heart was stuttering. And then, he pinched it.

Time itself seemed to lose meaning as Lux was sure she screamed, feeling a crescendo within that star as it shattered, going supernova. She felt her body convulsing, muscles tensing and relaxing extremely rapidly, over and over again within a short amount of time as she dug her face into his chest, her cry drowning into his shirt, gripping on to him for dear life. The intensity of what wracked her seemed to echo throughout her body like ripples in a puddling, coalescing and overlapping over and over again.

His hand was suddenly missing from her, she realized as her senses slowly started to come back to her, panting and gasping, utterly exhausted. She also realized, albeit slowly, that he had become very still. She opened her eyes, almost struggling to keep them open, as she saw him staring down at her with a very surprised expression on his face.

Her eyes opened fully then and she realized he didn't have that bronze glow to his skin anymore. Instead, he was illuminated with a bright white light. A light that was coming from her. She was glowing like a lantern.

"Well… That's something." He muttered, his expression still one of surprise.

"I…" Lux began, her mind still completely and absolutely jumbled up. She didn't know what she wanted to say, or what she was about to say, her vision still having black spots.

"I…" She started again, her eyelids stuttering as the black spots swam, enlarging. And then, everything went black.


	9. Chapter 9

**Reviews are appreciated**

 **~ Wings**

* * *

The morning light filtered in through the curtains as a light breeze wafted into the room, rufling the lacy curtains noiselessly while also bringing in the smells of morning bakeries and the sounds of the waking populace.

Lux slowly came to, and the first thing she realized was the absolutely muggy feeling within the confines of her head. It felt like her mind was submerged in mud. She groaned, turning over in her bed and trying to think. It was like wading through said mud. Slowly, but surely, she managed to remember what she was doing yesterday. And then the entire day's events came rushing into her mind with full clarity.

Her eyes shot open with horror as a fierce flush crept into her face.

"Oh Lights what have I done." She said to herself as she instantly sat up on her bed. Luckily, her bed was devoid of a second body lying next to hers. Unluckily, she was completely nude under the blanket.

Her face heated up even further and she felt like disappearing into nothingness at that exact moment. But she replaced her embarrassment with outrage as she jumped out of bed.

And promptly fell to the floor.

Her head pounded as she groaned again. So this was what a hangover felt like. She picked herself up and proceeded to her closet, slower this time. She found discarded clothes next to the closet, on the floor no less, and saw that it was the clothes she was wearing yesterday. Another blush fired up on her face as she got even more humiliated. She dressed quickly, coming out of the room wearing a knee-length black skirt and blue tunic, with black leggings underneath. Stomping down the stairs, she found Kayn once again in the dining room, relaxing in a chair with his legs propped up on the table. He glanced up at her as she entered fuming.

"You are a pig!" She shouted at him as soon as she entered, stopping at the threshold of the room and crossing her arms, glaring at him, the flush still visible on her face.

"How?" He asked, a small frown coming onto his face.

"You took advantage of me last night on the horse! And you undressed me while I was unconscious!" She said, her hands coming out of the cross and gesturing wildly to accent her emotions. His face darkened.

"I did not take advantage of you. If I remember correctly, you were the one who kept egging me on despite the many times I asked you to stop." He said as he stood up. Even from this distance, she felt his presence making itself known to her. He always felt so tall. And he was, compared to her.

She opened her mouth to argue, but stopped, realizing he was right. She wasn't that drunk yesterday night. She knew what she was doing. She closed her mouth, biting her tongue, her face flushing further.

"We didn't… You know… Right?" She asked, because honestly, her memory was quite fuzzy about it all.

Kayn shook his head, the expression on his face still quite dark.

She sighed in slight relief. It would've been terribly sad if she had given away her maidenhood without even remembering it.

She fixed him with another look, a tinge still on her cheeks as she then said, "Well… Good! Yesterday I was drunk and wasn't thinking straight! So you better not get any ideas from it."

Kayn huffed out some breath from his nose as he walked around the table. Lux felt her pulse quicken but stood her ground as he made his way to stand in front of her, forcing her to look up at him to meet his eyes, which were currently staring down at her with…. Contempt.

"Don't kid yourself." He said, venom and disgust in his voice. "Yesterday I was simply responding to my own bodily urges, nothing more. You are nothing more than a Mark for me to kill, and I am only fulfilling my part to play. I'm not your friend, I'm not your lover. I never was and I never will be. Leave that silly naivety in the mud where it belongs. You paid me to spend seven days with you before killing you and that's all I'm doing."

It was as if Kayn had just stabbed her. A cold feeling suddenly pierced her, growing in intensity with every word he said. Her flush died away, a paleness replacing it as her embarrassment and outrage just… faded away to nothingness. Her shoulders slackened and her eyes widened, and for some reason, the words he said… They hurt.

They hurt a lot.

Kayn made another snort of contempt at her lowering her face as he walked around her. She heard his footsteps move away from her, the sound of shuffling as boots were put on, and then the sound of her front door opening and closing. And Lux continued to stand there, unmoving, wondering how so much emptiness could hurt so bad.

She didn't even realize when the single tear had ran its way down her cheek.

…

The sun was setting. Lux was still there in the same spot, but now she was sitting on the floor, her knees drawn up to her face. Her arms rested on top of her knees, crossed over each other, while her face was lowered, buried into her knees. She didn't remember sitting down or getting into that position. Hunger and thirst was of no importance to her. She couldn't feel anything other than a stark pain, and emptiness. She hadn't even cried. The single tear was the only tear that had escaped her, as if her body had absolutely nothing left within it to give. It felt like there was nothing at all left, like her soul had left her body. She didn't feel sad, or angry, or anything.

There was only emptiness.

And pain.

So much ache.

She was surprised she hadn't died yet. Maybe she should've just taken her life that day in the pool. It would've saved her this much pain, this much suffering. She had never felt this horrible as she had these last few hours.

The sound of the front door opening and closing once more.

"What are you doing." Kayn said in a voice filled with disgust again. He walked over to stand next to her. "Lux, stand up."

She didn't respond to him.

He grabbed her roughly by the shoulders as he hauled her up off her feet, literally. He swung her around and slammed her against the wall, not too harshly but enough to make a large noise as his fingers and knuckles collided against the wall first before her back. Her legs dangled in the air, given he had pulled her up to his height so their faces were level.

"Stand up you filthy worm!" He hissed at her, disgust and anger on his face he glared at her, inches away from her face. Lux still didn't respond, just staring blankly at him.

"What the fuck is wrong with you!" He shouted at her, right in her face, his red eyes almost glowing at her.

She blinked at him, a very slow blink, before shifting her face away from his and muttering, "Just leave me alone."

He made another sound of disgust before shaking her roughly, slamming her against the wall again. "Get yourself together, you pathetic little shit, or I swear to the Elders that I'll gut you like a fish right now!" He said.

She didn't respond.

He roared into her face in fury, his red eye definitely glowing at her, his voice meshed in with a second, much more demonic voice.

She only looked back at him then and mouthed something to him, too quiet for him to hear.

His anger faded a little bit as he said, "What?"

She spoke again, her voice barely louder than a whisper.

"Do it."

He shifted his grasp on her, letting go of her shoulders, and instead grabbing her by her delicate throat with his right hand, holding her up, in the same way he had held her that very first night.

"What did you say?" He said in a voice that was no longer loud… Instead, it was low. Quiet and lethal, like the edge of a razor blade, full of dark promises and anger. It was somehow louder with its intensity than his shouts had been to her.

"Do it. Kill me." She said, louder this time.

His left hand went behind him, the demonic looking fingers flexing open. There was the sound of rushing wind and a red flash, as Kayn's huge scythe suddenly materialized.

"I will cut you open and leave you dying slowly, in agony, staring at your own fucking guts. I will make you die a long and painful death like the filthy worm you are acting like right now, so snap the fuck out of it!" He seethed in that dangerously low voice of his.

She didn't respond, just stared blankly at him.

He narrowed his eyes.

"Pathetic." He said. "I expected something better from you. I expected something stronger. For the first time, I thought I found someone who was actually interesting. But you're nothing. Nothing but a weak little girl who can't do anything."

No.

"Nothing but a nuisance to her family."

"Kill me."

"Nothing but a disgrace to her bloodline."

"Kill me."

"A filthy stain upon the sanctity of her family's honor. A fucking mage in one of the highest nobilities of Demacia!"

"Please just kill me." She felt tears rolling down her cheeks now.

"Imagine her brother's shock. Such a protective and righteous fellow, loved his sister so much… To find out that her sister was nothing more than a WEAK, WORTHLESS MAGE!" He shouted the last part, and swung the scythe, burying the blade deep into the wall right next to her head, inches away, so close that it parted a couple of stray locks of her hair.

"HE WOULD BE DISGUSTED BY YOUR DISPLAY OF WEAKNESS!" He shouted.

"JUST FUCKING KILL ME ALREADY!" Lux screamed, her countenance of emptiness breaking apart as she closed her eyes, reaching out blindly for his scythe, intent on helping he draw it across her neck.

"LUX, NO-"

Her right hand closed on the cool metal handle of his scythe.

 _ **Ah…. So there you are.**_

A demonic voice. Lux opened her eyes. She was in a colorless void, of complete black. She herself, was black and white. Grey. Like a Shadow. All around her, black. Black, black, black. Nothing but black. Nothing but nothingness.

And then, in front of her, a red glow. A massive red glow. Within the span of a second, a great demon appeared in front of her, towering over her. Only it's torso and above was visible, but it was so massive, bigger than the castle her family lived in. It looked like an amalgamation of red flesh, bulging muscles, and metallic yet bony looking protrusions, very similar to Kayn's left arm. Its head was entirely made of that metallic looking material, and looked utterly demonic, with a lipless grin of metal fangs and two flaming red eyes, lacking any feature other than a fiery glow. Twin horns similar to the blade of the scythe curved around its head, almost twice as big as its head in terms of width.

 _ **I've been waiting to meet you, little light.**_

It's voice was everywhere and nowhere simultaneously. It came from beyond her and within her.

 _ **I will enjoy devouring your very essence!**_

"LUX!"

His shout brought her back into reality with a snap. That was the first thing she registered. The second thing she registered was that someone was screaming, extremely loud and high.

It was her.

She was screaming in utter agony. And then the agony came. It felt like she was being burned up alive. She looked down at her right arm, the fingers clutched around the scythe's metal pole. Burning red cracks climbed up her arm, almost reaching her elbow at this point, her arm slowly disintegrating like shattered glass. The pain was so unimaginable it felt like she would pass out and yet she wasn't, and her scream was unending, like she didn't even need to breathe to scream.

"LET GO LUX!" Kayn shouted, as he was trying to wrench away the scythe from her. Her lungs finally gave out and she had to stop screaming to draw in breath, letting out a large sob of pain. "I CAN'T!" She managed to sob out as the pain wracked her again, the cracks climbing another inch up her arm, making her scream in pain again.

Kayn roared in anger, grabbing the scythe with both of his hands. He continued to shout and roar with effort, and Lux could hear another sound. The same voice she had heard from the demon, coming from the scythe, as if screeching at Kayn's interference.

There was a blast of red energy, and Lux was sent careening down the hallway. Her last memory was watching Kayn flying the other way before her back hit the floor, her head snapping back as well, and then all was black.

…

"Lux."

"Lux."

"Lux!"

Lux took a deep inhale, gasping for breath as she opened her eyes. Not much time had passed, since she was still on the floor. Apparently, she hadn't been breathing either, because her lungs burned, relief flooding her as she took her first breath in Light knows how long. Her vision slowly focused and she found Kayn holding her up in his lap, looking down at her with wild panic on his face. Relief seemed to flood him as his face relaxed when she looked up at him.

"You're alive." He said in a breathless voice.

"Kayn… My arm…" She whispered. She couldn't feel her right arm. She couldn't feel anything below her elbow other than the afterimage of the burning agony she had experienced. Nothing but numbness and an echo of the pain. "My arm, Kayn…" She whispered again, too afraid to look down at it, too afraid of what she'd find.

Kayn didn't say anything, and Lux closed her eyes. She tried raising her right arm but it wouldn't respond to her commands. She still couldn't feel it. She opened her eyes again and looked down at what was left of her right arm.

She still had it.

Thank the light, she still had her right arm. No fingers missing, no bones missing, no demonic metal protruding from it. But it was different.

Black cracks covered her right arm, all the way up to her elbow. Her arm looked like the arm of a porcelain doll that had cracked from an impact. Black lines spiderwebbed, mostly concentrated near her fingertips, but becoming more and more sparse as it climbed up her arm, the longest line stopping just below her elbow. A demonic scar that would forever mark her.

She looked up at him and saw with horror that his face had changed as well.

He used to have a scar marring the skin around his left eye. But now, there were small protrusions of the same metallic substance that the demon had, the same that his arm had. She was sure that if she pulled off his shirt, she would see that the demonic corruption of his left arm had also grown towards his torso.

She looked up at him again. Fresh new tears began to fall from her eyes. She tried speaking through her sobs, choking out two words, "I'm… Sorry…"

Kayn's eyes narrowed with pain as he just held her, allowing her to climb up a little bit and bury her face into his chest, her arms weakly going around him. After a few seconds, his hands also closed around her, holding her close to his chest.

"I'm so sorry… I'm sorry…" She sobbed as Kayn held her to his chest. "It's alright." He said in a low voice through her sobs. "I'll be fine…" He added, in a lower voice that was obviously a lie.

The sounds of her sobs were the only sounds in the now silent home as they stayed there on the floor.

On the other side of the hallway, the scythe lay unmoving.

Near the blade, a circular part of the scythe's construction seemed to twitch.

And then, the circle parted in the middle, opening up as a monstrous eye half-exposed itself. The eye looked around, before focusing on the two on the other end of the hallway. It seemed to narrow itself in contempt at them, before closing completely again, becoming indistinguishable again.

 _ **Soon.**_

 _ **I will have both of you.**_

 _ **Soon.**_


	10. Chapter 10

**Reviews are appreciated.**

 **~ Wings**

* * *

The rest of the night had been slightly hectic. An hour after the event, there were loud knocks on the door as the city guard arrived to investigate what all the noises were about. Lux had to explain to the guards that she had a very bad bout of night terrors and had woken up screaming. They looked unconvinced but took the word of the lady Crownguard and left them alone. Later, Lux had just gone to the bedroom, passing the guest room where Kayn had shut himself into. He said he was fine, but after she had cried her eyes out onto him, he had asked if he could stay in the guest room. After she had given him her permission, he had just gone in and said nothing else.

She did not knock but instead, went back into her room and fell onto her bed. She didn't feel like moving, and she didn't feel like looking at her arm, the cracks on it like fractures on a porcelain doll.

She didn't know when she fell asleep, but just that it happened at some point when the sky outside had begun to lighten.

…

She woke up too soon, it felt like. The sky was still light, and she still felt exhausted. It took a lot of effort for Lux to push herself off the bed. She had wished she would forget the events of last night, even for a little bit, when she woke up. But no, she remembered every detail in perfect clarity. She walked into her bathing chamber, stripping off her clothes as she went, suddenly feeling filthy.

She remembered that demonic presence. That voice… It felt like it had left a slithering darkness all over her. It made her skin crawl.

She got into her tub once the hextech piping providing the heated water had filled it. The water was a bit too hot, scalding to be honest, but she welcomed the pain. She felt like she had to strip off the top layer of her skin to feel clean again. To get the taint of that… that… Thing, off of her skin. Off of her.

She scrubbed at herself. Scrubbed and scrubbed, until her skin was scrubbed raw in places. Until her fingernails stung from the pressure and aching of her scrubbing so forcefully. Only then did she exit the tub and dry herself off.

A few minutes after, she dressed herself in a loose, full-sleeved tunic that was dyed a light pink shade, with a long black skirt. She left her blonde hair loose, not really caring much about it or her general appearance as she headed out of her room.

She stopped outside of the guest room, debating on whether she should knock. She felt… responsible. Because of her, something bad had happened to him. Just as it had happened to her.

Besides, they needed to talk. About what happened last night.

Taking a deep inhale through her nostrils, Lux raised her hand… and winced, noticing the cracks again.

She would never get used to this.

Steeling herself once more, she knocked on the door. Three sharp, but not loud, raps.

There was no answer.

She waited for a few seconds, before knocking again.

No answer.

Panic started to slowly seep into her mind, at the pace of honey dripping off a spoon, slow and viscous, as thoughts started firing off inside of her head, each one worse than the last. What if something worse had happened to him last night because of her? What if he wasn't as fine as he let on? What if…

Her hands started trembling as fear entered her system, and before knocking again, she pushed the door open and stepped inside.

"Kayn?" She asked out, finding the room to be empty. The bed was messy, like someone had slept in it, but there was no sign of him. Not that she could see.

"Kayn!?" She asked again, stepping farther into the room, looking around, her heart beginning to beat faster in fear. Where had he gone? What had happened to h-

"Lux?"

She whipped around, finding him at the threshold of the door to the room. Her mouth fell open when she realized that he was shirtless, and a hot flush came onto her cheeks when she realized he was only wearing a towel around his waist. She quickly turned around again, not looking at him (while also not letting him see how flustered she was) as she quickly stammered, "W-what are you wearing?!"

She barely heard his snort as he said, "Not all of us have the luxury of having a bathing chamber attached to the bedroom. I went to take a bath in the chamber down the hallway."

"Oh. Right…" She muttered, closing her eyes despite the fact that she was facing away from him, trying to still her pounding heart, which was now beating rapidly for a much different reason. "Well, g-get dressed!" She said.

"That was the plan. Would you like to watch?"

"No!" She said, horrified and embarrassed by his insinuation.

"Well you're standing in the middle of my room."

"Oh." She said as she didn't move. "Um. Right." She could do this, he was still wearing a towel after all.

She turned around… only to find him standing inches away from her. She yelped in surprise, stumbling backwards, the back of her knees hitting the edge of the bed, buckling them and causing her to fall backwards onto the bed with a very undignified "Oomph!"

She opened her eyes, looking up at Kayn staring down at her. His damp hair was completely untied, falling down in cascading waves of iridescent black to his waist. His torso was sculpted like what she would expect from a highly trained assassin, each hard muscular plane defined in sharp relief, the musculature on his abdominal stretch drawing her eyes down to that sharp V, cut off from view halfway down by the towel. Her eyes went back up to him to find him looking down at her, his mismatched eyes amused by her fall.

As she met his eyes, she saw something darker curl within the confines of his eyes, as amusement was replaced with something more… carnal. She realized how she must look to him right now, on her back on a messy bed, her hair spread around her head like a halo of sunlight in strands. The loose top she was wearing had hiked up slightly, revealing a slice of skin near her midriff, while also giving him a good view of her collar bones. And of course, her blushing face looking up at him, surprised and wordless.

She quickly got back up, and without another word, she stormed past him, closing the door behind her. She stopped outside the door, her face feeling like it was hot enough to fry an egg on as she took a deep breath to calm herself.

It was ten more minutes until Kayn showed up to the kitchen slash dining room, during which Lux had actually fried a couple of eggs and buttered some bread.

"Breakfast?" He asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes." She said, turning to look at him as she placed the cups of tea on the table. He was dressed in a simple white button down and dark brown pants, with a dark jacket over the shirt. He was wearing gloves again to hide his arm and a lock of hair blocked his eye from open view.

"It's 4 in the afternoon." He said.

"So?" She asked.

"Isn't it a bit late for breakfast?"

"Breakfast is when I want it to be."

"That's not how it works."  
"Do you want to eat?"

Discussion settled.

They ate relatively quietly and Lux mused about how their conversation seemed a bit too… normal. Considering the fact that she was a Demacian noblewoman and he was an Ionian assassin whom she had hired to kill herself in… four days from now. Today was the third day of her last seven days. And yet, they were talking like a normal couple.

Couple of people, that is. Not the other kind of couple.

"So…" She started as she put down her finished tea, the empty plate next to it. Kayn was still sipping on his as he looked at her.

"I.. want to apologize. For yesterday." She said, looking down at her hands, her fingers doing nothing in particular other than fiddling with each other. She was unable to meet his eyes. "I shouldn't have called you a pig. Or insinuated that you… took advantage of me. You didn't. I'm sorry." She said.

Kayn put down his teacup and was silent for a few moments before he said, "I shouldn't have said what I said yesterday either. Though it was partly the truth, it wasn't all truth and I shouldn't have been as blunt as I was." He sighed, before continuing, "I was a bit… angry that you thought of me that way. I might be a bastard and I kill for money, but even I have my lines that I do not cross."

Lux raised her eyes to meet his as he held her gaze for a bit, before closing his eyes, as if deciding something.

"My… mother." Kayn began, "She was a… Well, she was a whore."

Lux blinked, but Kayn went on, "I didn't know her well. All I know is that she was a whore in some Noxian brothel, and one night the tansy tea didn't work so well. I was born and looked after by my mother and her fellow workers. When I was seven, my mother passed away from some illness she caught during her work. Her sisters, as she called them, took care of me for a while after that, but they got tired of having to share their food and money to take care of the whelp of a dead whore. I was thrown out to the streets soon after that, and took to stealing to survive. Before long, I was caught by the guards, and spared the gallows by being given the choice to conscript into their regiment of child soldiers."

Lux didn't notice that her mouth had opened in horror and sadness, or that both of her hands had risen to cover her mouth. Kayn paused, before giving her a small grin, saying, "Not the prettiest story, huh? They barely trained me, gave me a sword half my size and twice my weight and told me to go kill some Ionians. And… well, I did."

He paused again, as if gauging Lux's reaction, trying to see if she was judging him. But she only felt sympathy for him. Sympathy and sadness at the life he had suffered. "I threw my sword away, picked up a sickle and went at it… I don't remember much. I just remember fueling myself with all the anger and hate and resentment I had harboured throughout my life back then, at the world and at life for its unfairness. It had taken away my mother, given me nothing in return other than death. I swung and sliced and killed until I couldn't move anymore, until the blood and gore covering me began to weigh me down, until the main Noxian army came through, barrelling over me like I was nothing but grass around them, trampling me into the mud… After that, well, the Order of Shadow found me and took me in."

He stopped then, looking up at her before snorting and shaking his head. "Sorry. I don't know why I'm telling you this. But I've never told anyone else, and you will be dead in a few days anyway." He sighed. "Guess I just wanted to get it off my chest. That's probably why I got so… pissed at you, when you accused me taking advantage of you. It made me think of my father, of Noxus."

He was silent after that and Lux bit her lip, feeling ashamed at the words she had said to him yesterday and her stupid reactions. She had acted like a spoilt brat, which, she probably was…

"I was born…" She began with a shaky voice, as Kayn's eyes looked at her now, "Into the Crownguards, as anyone would be to nobility. My parents wanted a child, wanted a daughter, and they got it. And I lived a very… prosperous life. I had anything I ever wanted, and more. But it never felt real. It always felt like I was songbird in a cage."

She lifted her arm up, holding her hand open. She flexed her fingers, feeling the cool sensation of mana in her veins flowing as a ball of light appeared upon the palm of her hand.

"Magic is… looked down upon in Demacia. Hated, actually. Mages are hunted here. Found, caught, tortured and killed. I remember once… When I was a child, wandering around the market with my brother and his friend, the prince… There was a commotion in the town square and I went to look." She swallowed, closing her eyes as that horrible image burned in her head.

"I saw a woman tied to a post. She was accused of being a mage, and she was being… Their whips had barbs. Made of petricite. Her back didn't even look like a back anymore… And she was still alive, screaming for it to end…" She took a shaky steadying breath as she closed her hand, snuffing out the light. "My entire life, I lived in fear. Of being found out for what I was. The daughter of one of the highest nobility in demacia, being a mage… It would be a shame my family would never recover from. I don't know what would happen to me. What would happen to my family. The worst thing is…" She felt the tears falling down her cheeks now as she took another shaky breath. "The worst thing is… I don't know if my family would even defend me if they found out. If my brother would try to protect me… If my parents would try to hide me… To save me… I don't even know if they would do that, or if they would just hand me over."

She managed a small shaky laugh as she quickly wiped her eyes, before looking up at him, expecting to see that same mocking smile. But Kayn had an odd look on his face, something like… pity in his eyes, even if his mouth was pressed in a grim line. As if his pity for her was also mixed with anger. The anger he had felt. She realized that, even though their lives were so far apart, so different in every way, they had one similarity. They were both born into a world where they weren't wanted, where they were neglected and denied. He was the son of a whore that no one wanted, she was a noble's daughter who was a filthy mage. Perhaps Kayn understood that as well.

But now, they came to the real point. She took another shaky breath, steeling herself, before asking, "Tell me what happened last night, Kayn."

Kayn's hand spasmed slightly, as if he was taken by surprise, before his face hardened and his hand closed. She could almost see his mental walls springing back up as he looked away from her, "You don't want to know, Lux."

"I do." She said.

"No, you don't."

She stood up, her chair scraping against the floor as she reached across the table and grabbed his hand, the demonic looking one, not afraid of it or him. She held it up and raised her right arm next to it, showing him the cracks on her arm.

"Yes, I do. Like it or not, I'm a part of this now as well." She said, her voice holding firm despite the quiver that was currently assaulting her legs. "And I want to know what I… What we're up against."

" 'We' are not up against anything. This is not your fight and not your business." He snarled, pulling his hand away from hers. "If I were you, I'd worry less about that and more about the fact that you have four more days to live before I kill you."

"But that's it, isn't it?" She said, refusing to back down. "I am going to die in four days, and you are going to be the one to kill me. What do I have to lose? Nothing." She pointed at his arm. "Tell me, what that thing is. What it's doing to you. What it tried to do to me."

Kayn glared at her, his teeth bared at her, and for a second, it looked like he'd just lash out at her and refuse to answer. But his snarl softened as his mouth closed, his eyes dropping before he sighed.

"Do you know about the Darkin?" He asked. Lux frowned, and shook her head.

"Well… I don't know much either. But my scythe… That's a Darkin."

"The weapon?"

"Yes. It's… alive, somehow. Rumor said it was just a cursed weapon that killed any who was not strong enough to wield it, and part of that is true… But it's not just a curse. There is something demonic living in that scythe, and it kills unworthy hosts because it wants a strong host."

"Like you." Lux said quietly, horror creeping into her voice. Kayn only nodded. "When you touched it yesterday night, it tried to devour your essence. Tried to devour your life. And it would've killed you, turned you into nothing, if I hadn't managed to stop it."

"And because of that… It managed to take over a bit more of you, didn't it?" Lux asked, looking at the scar around his left eye, which looked more like his left arm now, with the metallic bony protrusion around it.

He nodded.

"Is there… anyway to stop it?"

He shook his head.

"How long?"

He shook his head again.

Lux sat down again, her legs feeling like jelly. She didn't know what to say or how to respond. She could see it now. The bravado, the arrogance… All of it was just a way for Kayn to cope, to hide the internal struggle that must have constantly be going on in his head. A way to put all that aside, acting like nothing was wrong, an apathy to deflect the tempest within him.

"Does it hurt?" she asked. A small glint of amusement entered his eyes as he looked at her, one of those sly smiles coming onto his face. "What kind of question is that?"

She blinked. "I was just… wondering."

He snorted, before his face sobered up again. "It does. But it's a constant thing, so I've just learned to… ignore it."

"I'm sorry."

He snorted again, narrowing his eyes at her. "I don't need your pity."

She frowned slightly. "It's not pity, Kayn. It's compassion, maybe you've heard of it."

"Yeah, well you can shove it up yo-"

"I'm just trying to be nice, Kayn."

"I don't need your nicene-."

"Stop it." She said abruptly. "Just stop."

"Stop what?"

"This!" she said. "This whole pushing-people-away thing! You can't shoulder the weight of the world by yourself!"

"I don't need other people. I'm fine on my own."

"That doesn't mean you won't be better with other people." Lux said, holding a firm stare on Kayn, who stared back. "It's like you said, Kayn." She said in a calm voice, "I'm going to die in four days anyway. Let me help you."

"And why would you want to help the man who's going to kill you?" He asked, as if the idea was stupid to him. Well, to be honest, it was a stupid idea to her as well.

"Well…" She thought about it, before speaking, "I've never had the chance to really do what I wanted to before. I never had the choice, the freedom. I'm going to die soon, and I want to die after doing what I want to do. Helping people, not just you. This demon is a bigger matter than just you, Kayn. If it gets out, you're not the only one who's going to pay a price." She said, her sapphire peripheries focused on his mismatched ones.

Kayn seemed to ponder upon it before fixing her with a flat stare and saying, "No."

And with that, he stood up and began to walk away. Anger flashed in Lux and she stood up, storming after him and grabbing him by the shoulder.

"Don't walk away from me!" She said angrily.

"Oh? Watch me." He said, trying to walk off again, but Lux pulled him, or rather, pulled herself around him to stand in front of him, blocking his path.

"Why won't you let me help you? This thing is extremely dangerous and you need all the help you can get!"

"I'm not saying I don't want help, I'm saying I don't want _your_ help."

"Why?"

"Because I don't." He tried walking past her but she stopped him again.

"Let me help."

"No."

"Why won't you let me?"

"Because fuck you."

"Kayn, this darkin is demonic in nature. Do you know what beats demonic energy? Light. Do you know who has a lot of light?"

"Oh, maybe the fucking sun?"

"I'm literally a walking sun, Kayn! I think I can find a way to help!"

"I don't want your fucking help, woman!"

"Why? I'm going to die anyway so it doesn't matter!"

"That's not what's the issue!"

"Then what is!?" She said loudly, almost screaming. "Why are you such an obtuse, angsty bastard who can't admit that I can help you!? Why is it such a big deal for you to just admit, for once in your life, that someone like me could help you with this! Why can't you just sa-"

"Because I don't want to pull you into this anymore!"

"Why not!? I've already seen what that thing is, I'm already as much in it as I can be!"

"No you are no-"

"Yes I a-"

"No, sto-"

"Why won't you let me he-"

"BECAUSE I CAN'T!" Kayn roared at her. Lux flinched instinctively at the sound, stepping away from him as she looked at him in surprise. Kayn was panting angrily, as if saying that had taken a lot of out of him. "And if you ask me 'why' again, I swear I wil-"

"You will what, Kayn? Kill me?" Lux asked, her hands closed into fists at her side. It was actually kind of funny to look at, Lux being as small as she was facing off in front of the man who towered over her. "Well go ahead then! I'm asking you, Why?"

"Because I don't want it to take you." He said, in a voice that was surprisingly quiet.

"Why!? What difference would it make if it killed me? You're going to kill me anyway!" Lux shouted, her voice still loud as she still raged on. "It doesn't matter if it kills me or if you kill me, I will try anything to stop it! It doesn't matt-"

Kayn's hands grabbed her shoulders harshly, and for a second, Lux thought he was going to throw her at a wall or something. But then his lips crashed into hers, and everything suddenly seemed to freeze around her. Surprise lit up all the stars in her head as her eyes widened at the feeling of Kayn's lips on hers, and without even realizing it, her lips opened, accepting the kiss as she kissed him back. Time seemed to lose its meaning, as did whatever they had been shouting or arguing about as she kissed him, and he kissed her, her hands finding their way around his neck, one of his hands going around to her back and pulling her in deeper. Her lungs began to burn but she didn't want to breathe, she wanted more of this kiss. She wanted more of this feeling, this sensation, of him. She wanted mo-

He broke the kiss and pushed her away as she stumbled back, her back hitting the wall to steady her as both of them panted from the drawn out kiss they just had. Lux's eyes widened again as she realized what had happened and she gaped at him, a flush creeping onto her face, words failing her even as she tried to speak, to say something, anything.

Kayn straightened up, still panting as he fixed those eyes on hers, a dark fire burning within those confines as he then snarled, "It matters a lot."

And with that, he stormed off to the front door, opening it, stepping out and slamming it behind him, leaving Lux still leaning against the wall, still completely flabbergasted at what had just transpired. She stared after him, looking at the door with wide eyes as her hand tentatively rose to her lips. She could still feel the ghost of his lips on hers, and she gingerly touched her lips with his fingertips, as if she still couldn't believe what had just happened.

She blinked. Once. Twice. She then straightened up. "Kayn, you bastard." She muttered angrily as she hurried to the door, putting her shoes on. She opened the door, saying, "I'm not done talking to you!"

With that, she rushed off after him.


	11. Chapter 11

**Reviews are appreciated.**

 **~ Wings**

* * *

Lux caught up to Kayn, who was currently sauntering down the street with his hands in his pockets. She slowed down to his pace once she got next to him, although given their height difference, she still had to walk at a brisk pace to keep up with his long strides.

"What was that!?" She said in a flustered, but quieter tone since they were now out in public.

"What?" He asked, lazily checking out a market stall as they passed into one of the more crowded parts of Demacia.

"You kissed me!" She hissed, narrowing her eyes at him.  
"You were talking too much." He said in that lazy drawl of his, stopping to peruse a fruit stall.

"You did that to shut me up?" She asked indignantly after a moment's shock.

"It didn't really work, did it?" He said in an amused tone as he picked up an apple and turned it around for his eye. "Well, at least it made you drop the topic."

"We are not done talking about that." She said with a frown, already fishing out a few coins out of her purse.

"Yes we are." He said simply, turning and beginning to walk down the street, biting into his apple. Lux scowled, paying the apple-vendor and going after him again.

However, before she could utter another word, a voice yelled nearby, "Make way for the Prince!"

Kayn paused, turning around to look at the commotion with a slightly interested glaze to his eyes despite the bored look on his face.

"Oh no." Lux muttered as she spotted the guards, and the tall man with dark hair in their midst. The man turned his head towards her just as she started trying to duck away behind Kayn.

"Luxanna?" The man called out, as the guards all turned around and the small throng of people all parted, clearing an open path towards Lux, hiding behind Kayn, who was standing there lazily chewing on his apple as he fixed a bored glance at the prince.

The man made his way over as Lux groaned internally, before stepping around Kayn. Jarvan the Fourth beamed at Lux as she came into view. "Luxanna! It is you! I thought I saw that golden shimmer of your hair!" Jarvan said as he stopped in front of her, gesturing his arms forward towards her to receive her for a hug.

"Uh… Hello Jarvan." She said awkwardly, not going in for his hug and instead just standing there rubbing her elbow. The moment stretched, as did the awkwardness, until Jarvan lowered his arms and cleared his throat. "How have you been, Luxanna? I haven't seen you for a long time." He said with a cordial smile.

"I'm alright." Lux said curtly, unconsciously taking a step back, hiding herself behind Kayn partly. That drew his attention to Kayn as Jarvan straightened up. Jarvan was tall, very tall, taller than Kayn, who was already quite tall. They stared at each other, Jarvan jutting his chin out with a dominant smile on his face, Kayn staring boredly at the Prince, taking another unconcerned bite of his apple and chewing it louder-than-necessary.

"And uh… Who's this?" Jarvan asked, his eyes not leaving Kayn.

"He's my bodyguard. His name is Rhys." Lux said, realizing she was drawing attention to Kayn. She stepped out from behind him again, trying to make herself prominent, but Jarvan seemed to already be in some kind of silent pissing contest with Kayn.

"Rhys, huh? What's his last name?" Jarvan asked, still staring at Kayn, who took another impudent bite of his apple, as if he couldn't give two shits about Jarvan. Which he probably didn't.

"Uh… Cromwell." Lux said, thinking fast.

"Not a noble family then." Jarvan said, looking down and up at Kayn. "Thought so." He added.

"What are you doing here, Jarvan?" Lux said with a bright smile, trying to get Jarvan's attention away from Kayn. It finally worked as Jarvan's eyes went over to Lux and his face softened into another smile.

"Oh I'm just enjoying a day out on the streets. It's a wonderful day, and it was made more so by the fact that I run into you of all people." Jarvan said.

Kayn took another noisy bite of his apple. This man had a talent for eating an apple slowly.

"Yeah, quite wonderful huh?" Lux said with a glance at Kayn, who glanced back at her with the same uninterested look.

"Indeed. Not everyday when I get to meet my dearly betrothed out on the streets. This is the Light's will, it is." Jarvan said. At the word 'betrothed', Kayn's eyes shot to her, his head turning as he narrowed his eyes at her. She gave him a helpless glance. _I'll tell you later._

He raised an eyebrow but his eyes shifted away from her.

"Why don't you join me for a walk, Luxanna?" Jarvan asked, offering her his hand. Lux hesitated. They were out in public, and the Crown prince had just offered her his hand. Denying it and refusing him would be… catastrophic in terms of scandal and rumors. It would be a massive slight to him as well. She cringed inwardly before putting her arm in his grip, which he took gently.

They walked down the street, escorted by Jarvan's guards, Kayn following close behind Lux. She heard a soft 'thunk' and turned to see a guard rubbing his helmet and looking around, an apple core on the ground next to him. She turned her eyes to Kayn, who had an innocent look on his face, despite the slightly sly smirk he got when he saw her looking.

"What are you doing out here, Lux? I thought you always only stayed on your estate grounds." Jarvan asked.

"I was feeling a bit stir-crazy. Needed some fresh air, some color." She said. She uttered a small gasp of surprise as Jarvan pulled her closer, her side now stuck to his as he draped an arm over her shoulder, keeping her close. She cringed at that again, unable to keep a slight grimace out of her face. She did not like this man.

"If you needed some enjoyment, you could've simply called for me. I would've arrived to save you from your distress." Jarvan said in an amused tone, his thumb spinning lazy circles over Lux's shoulder, which caused more discomfort in Lux.

"Don't be silly. Calling the Crown Prince over such a small matter?" Lux managed to say, trying to keep her voice steady despite the disgust in her stomach.

Jarvan stopped, turning to face Lux as he cupped her chin with two fingers. "Oh come now, you are my betrothed." He said as he leaned in close to her face, Lux trying to pull away but unable to. "All you need is to say the word and I'd come running." Jarvan said in a quieter tone.

"W-what a pleasant offer. I'll be sure to remember that." Lux said, still trying to pull away from him. His grip tightened on her chin, slightly painful to her as she winced.

"Is something the matter, Luxanna?" Jarvan asked her, oblivious to her discomfort.

"No. Nothing is wrong." She said in a quiet voice.

Jarvan stared at her for a few seconds before smiling. Then he closed for a kiss.

Lux couldn't help the small yelp of distress that managed to come out before his lips attached onto hers. His kiss was rough, his tongue forcing its way into her mouth like an invasive, slimy worm, tasting the inside of her orifice. It lasted a few seconds but it felt like too long for Lux before Jarvan finally broke the kiss and straightened up.

"I shall leave you to enjoy the rest of your day then, beloved." Jarvan said with a cordial smile, nodding at her.

Lux was unable to say anything but nod as Jarvan departed with his entourage of guards. She felt Kayn's presence behind her, but didn't say anything. He didn't speak either.

She stared until Jarvan was gone. Until whatever attention he had garnered from the populace dissipated. And then Lux turned and ran, ran for the nearest alleyway. Since they were in the noble part of the capital, there wasn't any dark abandoned alleyway. So Lux ended up going into a smaller deserted street before she fell to her knees, retching out the contents of her stomach into an empty garden plot.

She felt gloved hands instantly at her neck, pulling her blonde hair back and away from her face so she didn't get her mess on them. One hand held the hair back, the other one rubbing on her back as she continued to heave. She vomited out the entirety of her lunch, dry heaving several times after that as sobs broke out of her throat, tears falling from her eyes. She felt so violated and disgusted by what had just happened. And helpless, she felt helpless. Just like she always had for so many days, months, perhaps years, before she had struck this bargain with Kayn.

She sat there, taking deep, heaving breaths to clear her throat and stop her crying, perhaps a minute or two passing as she calmed down. She stood up then, wiping her mouth with a handkerchief she fished out of her purse, wiping her tears on her sleeves.

"Thank you." She muttered in a hoarse voice, turning her eyes to look at Kayn's face, getting slightly taken aback with the serious look on his face.

"So, what was that about?" Kayn asked, his tone indecipherable.

"That… Is the crown prince of Demacia, Jarvan the Fourth. Best friend of my brother, general of the King's armies, one of the biggest egotistical bastards and my betrothed." She said with disgust and anger in her voice.

"Your betrothed, huh?" He said casually, despite the dark edge his tone held.

"Yes, much to my displeasure… We used to play as children, me, him, and my brother. But as I grew older, he got this insane notion of love for me. And once he reached of age and I was a teenager, he declared his love openly for me. And ofcourse, my parents decided to accept his proposal without even asking about what I thought. Everyone congratulated me for becoming engaged to the crown prince. Something I never wanted. No one even asked me what I wanted or how I felt. They just celebrated." She said bitterly, looking down at the ground, before turning her eyes up to him. "Now you know another reason why I want to…" She didn't finished. Didn't need to.

"Did you never have any other boys you liked?" Kayn asked.

"I did. But Jarvan and Garen would always scare them off. They never let me have any friends who even remotely had a penis." Lux said, feeling steady enough so she began to walk back towards their home.

Kayn didn't say anything for the entire walk back home until they passed through the door of their house.

"I could kill him for you, you know." Kayn said as the door closed. Lux fixed a shocked glance at Kayn, finding him to be completely serious.

"You could've just hired me to kill him. You could afford it." He said, his voice containing the lethal sharpness to it that he always got whenever he was in a dark mood.

"I wouldn't be able to afford that, and you wouldn't be able to kill him." Lux said, taking her shoes off.

"You can afford it now. I'll pull some strings and give you a cheap offer. All you need to do is change your contract and say the word." Kayn said, completely seriously.

Lux turned to look at him again, completely taken aback by his offer. But then she grimaced, shaking her head.

"I'm not going to send you to die, Kayn. He's too well guarded, even for you."

"Like hell he is. I've never failed."

"There's a first for everything."

"Not for me."

"Why do you suddenly want to help so much Kayn?" She asked, a slightly annoyed tone to her voice. "I thought you didn't like to help or get help?"

"This is different."

"How is this different? You are asking me to send you to your death and you're willing to pay for it, and correct me if I'm wrong, I've only known you for a few days, but you don't strike me as the charitable type."

"Because I saw what he did to you, how you feel about it." Kayn said, anger simmering in his eyes. "What he did, how he talked. It reminded me of my father. And what he did to my mother." He said.

"Your father?" Lux asked, concern entering her. "You met your father?"

Kayn was silent for a few moments before turning his eyes towards her, the red eye shining through his lock of hair.

"I killed him." He said in a voice void of emotion, void of regret. His eyes bore a hole into her with their intensity, as if he was daring her to judge him.

Lux, however, cocked her chin out as she gave him an understanding look through her eyes. "Good." She said.

"Tell me to kill him Lux." Kayn said. "Give me the order and I'll go. You won't die and your problem will be solved."

"It's not that simple, Kayn… And no, my problems wouldn't be solved. You can't fix everything by killing them."

"I can damn well try."

"No, Kayn." She said firmly. "I will not tell you to do it."

Kayn narrowed his eyes, before shrugging. "Well, I just realized I don't even need your permission for it actually."

"What?"

"I can just go kill him because I want to."

"No you will not."

"Sure I will."

"Kayn!" Lux said, her temper flaring as she ran around him, blocking the doorway from him.

"You will not!" Lux said angrily.

"Move or you will be moved." Kayn said in that deadly quiet tone.

"No." Lux said.

"I'm doing this for you."

"I don't want you to do this for me."

"Yes you do."

"No I don't."

"Why not?"

"You will die!"

"So? That doesn't matter, I'll kill him first." Kayn said as he raised a hand to move Lux.

"It matters to me." Lux said quietly, lowering her face. Kayn froze, his hand a few inches away from Lux.

"You matter to me." Lux added, raising her face to fix pleading eyes on Kayn, tears breaking out and sliding down her cheeks. "I don't want you to die, Kayn. Not on my behalf. You matter to me… Don't do it."

"You…" Kayn breathed, before gritting his teeth and narrowing his eyes, "You don't know what you're saying."

"I do." Lux said, shaking her head and hastily wiping away the tears. "I'm a stupid girl, I've always been a stupid girl. But I won't be for this. I won't be stupid about this."

"You've given me more than anyone else has within these few days against the years of my life." Lux took a small, shaky breath before continuing, "With you I feel like I can be myself, free of any chains, free of the cage I was born and kept in. And I know I'm stupid for feeling this way, for saying these things, you're just an assassin doing his job and you're going to kill me in a few days anyway… But…" She raised her eyes up to him, seeing the shocked look on Kayn's face.

"I'm in love with you, Kayn." Lux said finally. She finally said the words that had been weighing down on her ever since she saw him at the edge of the clearing that one fateful night. It felt like a great weight was finally off her shoulder. Everything suddenly seemed to make sense again.

"I've been falling in love with you ever since we've met."

"You're delusional. You're crazy." Kayn said in a voice filled with disbelief, though there was a look of longing in his eyes.

"I'm not. I'm a lot of things, stupid being one of them. But I'm sure of this. I want to live before I die. I want to love before I die. My heart chose you, the man who will show me life before he gives me death."

"How?" Kayn asked, anger in his voice. "You say you love me? How do you love this?" Kayn asked, a demonic secondary tone entering his voice as he took a threatening step towards her, brushing his hair away from his eye, revealing the darkin corruption. "I am a weapon, I am death imbued within a body. How do you claim to love a killer bathed in blood you silly, daft little girl. You've known me for less than three days!"

Lux raised a hand and Kayn froze. Her hand neared his face and Kayn stood still. Lux wasn't sure if he was breathing or not. She wasn't sure if she was breathing either. Slowly, gently, her hand laid on his chin, right under that corruption of his eye.

"I just do." She said, Kayn's eyes going from her hand to hers, a myriad of confused emotions flooding around in his mismatched eyes.

"I know you, Kayn. You are in a lot of pain, all the time… Not just from the darkin, but you've been abandoned and neglected all your life. It's made you afraid. You're afraid to love." She swallowed, taking a breath before adding, "So am I. I'm afraid."

Kayn looked at her helplessly as Lux searched his eyes for a sign. Any sign. Anything that might confirm his feelings for her. And a decision was seeming to be reached as Kayn's face set into a grim acceptance. His eyes darkened, with sorrow. Lux's heart skipped a beat, not in love but with fear.

"Kayn, don't. Please don't." She said, fresh tears coming out of her eyes again.

"I'm sorry Lux." Kayn said, his voice thick with emotion. "But you don't love me… You can't. Even if I don't kill you… You… Me… We won't work. You are a bright light, brighter than the sun. I'm glad I met you, you showed me a lot, taught me a bit too." He admitted with a small, sad smile.

"Kayn, no. No no no…" Lux muttered, her hand still resting on Kayn's cheek as Kayn closed his eyes.

"You're a star. And me?" He opened his eyes to look at her one last time. "I'm nothing but a shadow."

Kayn's form darkened as the feeling of his cheek on her hand suddenly turned to smoke. With a small sound of wind, Kayn turned into black smoke and dissipated into the shadows of the house, disappearing without a single trace.

Lux stood there, her hand still trembling in the air, where she had been touching his face. She let it drop then, not a sound coming out of her. Just silent tears. She stood there for a few more moments. A minute. Half an hour. An hour.

And then finally, she put on her shoes, wiped her eyes, opened the front door and stepped out.

The door closed with finality upon the empty dark home as Lux began to walk.

To walk back towards the Crownguard estate.


	12. Chapter 12

**Reviews are appreciated.**

 **~ Wings**

* * *

The sun was already rising by the time Lux was walking up the path to the Crownguard estate. The guard seemed like he might ask or say something, but Lux had her face lowered, looking like she had walked back from someone's funeral, so the guard wisely said nothing but open the gates for her. She walked all the way back up to her room and simply lay herself down on the bed.

She stayed like that for a long time, her mind at a complete standstill. It felt like there was an emptiness within her that was a thousand times more profound than it had been before. It felt like someone had hooked chains into her ribcage and pulled them out painlessly and cleanly, along with her heart and lungs, leaving nothing but a gaping void. No physical pain at all, just the sense of loss and emptiness.

There was barely a coherent thought in her mind, only a distinct lack of thoughts. It was funny how silence could be the loudest sound of all, despite having no sound at all. She bleakly registered the way the sun was shining down through the part in the curtains, knowing that it was already midday. There was a knock at the door as a maid poked her head in.

"Lady Crownguard? It's late in the day and your brother asked for you to not miss your meals." She said.

Lux didn't respond, not instantly at least. She breathed, long and slow, before pushing herself up. It was back to her old life, it seemed. The dream she had was beautiful, even if it was a lie that lasted only for a little while. If she could, even knowing that it would end this way, she would go back and live it over again. The maid left as Lux walked over to her wardrobe. She changed, her movements completely on instinct, almost lifeless, as she put on a casual white dress that had light blue trimmings. It reached down to her ankles and she tightened the sash around the center. She left her hair down, as it usually was, although as she looked in the mirror, she saw that it lacked it's usual luster, seeming more like dying grass than the usual spun gold. Her eyes also had dark circles around it once more and her emptiness was evident in her eyes.

She walked out of her room, still feeling like everything wasn't really real at all anymore and made her way down to the dining room. She knew Garen was waiting there, but was surprised to find Jarvan there as well. They both looked over to her when she entered.

"Luxanna, I'm glad you came back home." Garen said, looking over to Jarvan. "The Prince was here telling me about how he ran into you in the markets."

"Yes." Lux said after a few moments, already feeling sick.

"I was telling Garen about our meeting. I know our moments shared are private, but Garen being your older brother and my closest friend, I felt like I could share a bit of our lives with him. I was simply telling him how you captured my heart more than possible with that lovely kiss of yours." Jarvan said with a smug smile.

Lux felt something inside of her break right there. And with it, came a fire. A fire of anger, of rage so great that it felt like it was bursting out of Lux. It filled her with anger and strength and filled up that void inside of her, and she felt like there was lava in her blood vessels.

"My kiss?" She said venomously, fixing a raging glare at Jarvan. "You forced yourself onto me, you absolute pig. I want absolutely nothing to do with your conceited, arrogant self and would sooner kiss a dog than even touch you!" She said, her voice at a high volume.

"Luxanna!" Garen said, both angry and horrified that she spoke like that, instantly standing up. "You overstep! Apologize to the Prince right now!"

"It's him that should be apologizing, Garen! This filthy excuse for royalty forced himself onto your sister! And you're still going to defend him!?" Lux shouted, pointing an accusing finger at Jarvan first, then at Garen. Garen, for his part, hesitated, and almost looked somewhat torn.

This is when Jarvan stood up. There was anger on his face.

"You dare accuse me of such a thing? Lies and slander?" He said as he walked up to Luxanna, towering over her.

"I only speak the truth. You are a dirty, filthy man and I have never liked you for a moment. You only saw me as another trophy to get and you would not let anyone say no to you." Lux snarled at Jarvan, who had reached her by now. Garen was making his way towards them as well. Lux looked at Garen, who looked like he was struggling with how he would mediate this, but because her attention was diverted, she did not see Jarvan's hand coming.

He backhanded her. Hard. The force of it knocked her off her feet and whipped her head to the side. She fell back, cracking the back of her head against the wall behind her and crumpling to the floor.

"You filthy whore! You should be grateful I don't break off this marriage and have you paraded as the slut you are, having your long visit away with that mercenary of yours! You think I didn't see the way that boy was looking at me and looking at you? You've probably bedded him more times than we've talked and I still give you the chance, and this is how you repay me!?" Jarvan shouted. Lux barely heard much of it, given that her head was spinning and throbbing with pain, her cheek already swelling, blood trickling down the corner of her lips where it had gotten cut against her teeth. But, instead of giving in to the pain, it seemed like the pain only made her stronger. Her head cleared, before it was covered in flames again. She fixed a look on Garen, despite everything, hoping he would step in to help her. For all his flaws, he was still her big brother. He had been her best friend once in a time.

But he was simply standing to the side, watching the event unfold with a grim expression on his face.

He had been her brother… Once.

She screamed in anger, standing back up and shoving Jarvan back, light exploding from her form with a thunderous crack and a blinding flash. Jarvan was flung back across the entire room, crashing into the dining table, the wood splintering and braking as plates and platters were shattered against the floor.

Lux breathed heavily as she stood their, her arms outstretched, still glowing with her magic, the fractured lines on her right arm glowing completely white, as if light was bursting from within her skin.

Garen had a horrified expression on his face, filled with disbelief as Jarvan groaned, slowly picking himself up. "Luxanna… You're a mage?" Garen breathed.

Lux's eyes flickered to Garen as her anger was instantly overcome with horror. Oh light, what had she done?

"Guards!" Jarvan shouted.

Within moments, heavily armored royal guards barged into the room, instantly locating Lux, who was still glowing with her magic. Lux panicked, readying her magic again to defend herself, but the guards closed in on her, grabbing her and shoving her down onto the floor. She felt her strength sapping away as the glow faded, their petricite armor eating away at her magic.

She cried out in pain as they wrenched her arms back, restraining her on the floor as another guard helped Jarvan up.

"Jarvan…" Garen said, his voice unsure and weak sounding. Lux had never heard Garen sound like he did. She looked up at him through her pain, and saw him fixing her with pained gaze.

"Did you know she was a mage?" Jarvan asked Garen angrily. Garen looked at Jarvan, looking back at Lux helplessly, before shaking his head, grimly saying, "No."

He then seemed to steel himself before saying, "Jarvan, I ask that yo-"

"No. This mage is not your sister. She is a vessel controlled by that abomination inside of her. She almost killed me!" Jarvan raged as he gestured, the guards pulling Lux up, holding both of her arms. At this point, Lux's anger had died away completely, the fires gone, replaced with an icy feeling of fear.

"Jarvan, please. I'm your best friend. She's my sist-"

"Cease your words or I shall have you demoted and your entire family stripped of its nobility!" Jarvan snarled and Garen stopped, gaping at Jarvan in shock for a moment before closing his mouth and looking away in defeat.

"Your majesty, what shall we do with his mage?" One of the guards holding Lux said.

He looked at her, a look of anger and malice in his gaze, before he said, "Bring her to the Hall of Judgement."

No.

No no no.

Lux's countenance shattered. She had flashing images of mages tied to posts and whipped to an inch of their lives. She began struggling against her captors with renewed vigors, screaming and crying. "Garen! Don't let them take me! Big brother! Please! LET ME GO! GAREN! HELP!" She screamed and cried, but Garen only stood there, his face turned away and his eyes closed, his teeth clenched.

She kept screaming and crying and struggling as they hauled her out of the mansion. She kept screaming and crying for help as they pulled her through the city streets, people milling around to stare in shock and awe at her. Yet, no one came to her rescue. She could not break out of their grasp, no matter how much she tried, and any time she tried to draw on her magic, the petricite armor they wore sapped it away.

She tried biting the hand of one of the guards who held her, and was rewarded with a cry of anger and a cuff to the face, hard enough to send her world spinning. She felt herself losing her hold on consciousness.

The last thing she heard was an echoing, demonic laughter within the confines of her mind, the lines on her arm warming momentarily.

…

She awoke with a throbbing pain in her face, feeling herself being shifted and moved. She must not have been out cold for long apparently, but it seemed as though she was waking at the worst possible time. There were two grand doors in front of her that were opened as the guards who had been pulling her along continued to do so, guiding her into the wide room.

Normally, this room would be filled completely to the brim with people, but given that Lux's situation was completely impromptu, the room was quite empty. However, even then, there was at least a few hundred people in the room, and more filling in as news had already spread from her being paraded through Demacia. The Hall itself was like an oversized cathedral, a huge rectangular building capable of fitting thousands of people in the seats. Noxus had their gladiator colosseum. Demacia had the Hall of Judgement. She was led to the center of the room, which consisted of an enormous circular space, in the middle of which was a post made of pure Petricite, reaching 20 feet into the air, still dwarfed by the ceiling of the hall going so far above it.

The guards brought her to the edge of the circle, standing and holding her there. She had already stopped struggling due to it being pretty much pointless, and now, it was all she could do to reign in her fear and not devolve into a gibbering, panicking mess.

There was 5 chairs spaced evenly around the circle, at the very edge of the top of the circle, across the Petricite post from Lux's position. The chair in the middle was a throne. And upon that throne, sat Jarvan the Third, current reigning King of Demacia. The other four chairs were meant to sit the four judges, referred to as Ministers; The Minister of Law, The Minister of Truth, The Minister of Justice and the Minister of Mercy. There was rarely ever a time when the Hall of Judgement was used, it was reserved only for the greatest of criminals. To see all four Ministers in one place was a rare event. And as Lux waited, held there by the guards, she saw people filling into the hall, including the four ministers. All four of them wore robes befitting of their position and rank, faces hidden by masks and hoods, completely white head to toe, the only difference between them being the color of their trimmings and the color of the scarves draped over the back of their necks and hanging down their front from each shoulder. The colors were Violet, Blue, Gold and White respectively, to differentiate each minister.

Lux found herself trembling, and she was certain her legs would've failed her if it were not for the Royal Guards holding her upright. Her eyes finally met the King's, and the depth of the emotions in his eyes frightened her further. He had always been a kind man, kind to her and to his people. But King Jarvan was resolute with his beliefs, and right now, his eyes held the darkness of hate, one that could only be birthed from betrayal, along with an edge of disgust. It was almost like he blamed her for betraying by being a mage.

He said nothing, only holding her gaze until Lux looked away, too fearful to even cry. Her heart was, peculiarly, beating at a very slow rate. A terror so great that, instead of sending your body into a rush, it breathed a cold into her very bones, slowing her down to numbness.

Jarvan the Fourth appeared behind the king, taking his rightful place of standing to the King's right, glaring down at Lux with anger and disgust. There was no sign of Garen. Finally, the King leaned forward, and that alone was enough to instill silence in the hall, where already a thousand or so people had arrived.

He stared at her for a moment longer before saying, "Is it true that you are a mage, Luxanna Crownguard?" No ceremony, no formalities. The king of Demacia did not dilly dally, and moved right to the point.

"Your Highness, there's been a mis-"

"Answer the question, Miss Crownguard." The Minister of Law spoke.

Lux gritted her teeth. She looked at the Minister of Truth and the Minister of Mercy with a helplessness in her eyes. "Yes." She finally said. It was pointless to lie here, the Minister of Truth would know, and it would only worsen her odds. If she was going to be executed, she would do so with her head held high. That resolution filled itself into her veins as she seemed to still her fear, straightening up further, a grim sense of resoluteness entering the features of her face.

As soon as she had answered, whispering began anew in the hall, as if people could not believe that Demacia's greatest prodigy was a mage.

"Is it true you assaulted my son, the Crown Prince?" The King asked, his voice impossible to read.

Lux was about to deny it, but she recalled Jarvan's earlier threat towards her family. Her family… was not really something she valued. But she valued her brother, Lux realized. Despite all that had happened and all he had done, he had still been her big brother and guiding figure throughout her childhood. He might no longer do the right thing for her… But she would do the right thing for him.

"Yes." She said, offering no other explanation. The crowd erupted at once with clamour, so much so that the King actually had to raise a hand to silence them, although he let them be for a few seconds before he actually did that.

"Prince Jarvan the Fourth, would you like to add anything?" The Minister of Justice asked.

"She assaulted me not with her hands, but with vile magics. She blasted me across the very room with her sinister power. She is a filthy mage, her blood is impure and tainted. She must have been using this power to charm me for the last few years too!" Jarvan said angrily. Lux's eyes widened as disgust and hatred for this lying bastard soared inside of her. It was all she could do to bite her tongue and remain silent, even as the crowd roared up at all the accusations, many of them screaming for her to be executed.

The King raised his hand once more and the crowd fell silent. "In the eyes of the people and the light of Demacia, judgement shall be bestowed." He said.

"Guilty. The law states that practicing such vile arts is sacrilege and one of the greatest crimes." The Minister of Law said.

"Guilty. She was honest with all her confessions, thus proclaiming her guilt." The Minister of Truth said.

"Guilty. She assaulted royalty and shows no repentance for her actions." The Minister of Justice said.

The Minister of Mercy was silent for a few seconds, and Lux had a fleeting hope that the Minister would come to her aid and help her. The Minister of Mercy then spoke, "Guilty. There is no mercy for heretics such as mages."

"The Judgement has been spoken. Luxanna Crownguard, you are hereby guilty of being a mage and assaulting royalty, commiting treason in the process." The king said as Lux's stomach dropped, her previous conviction wavering.

The King gestured to the guards, and said, "Prepare her to the post."

The crowd cheered with approval as Lux found her countenance shattering, fear and terror pouring in like the floodgates had just burst open. All rational thoughts went out her head as she began to kick and struggle and scream with renewed vigor as the guards began to pull her to the dreaded post. She tried anything and everything, but they were too strong, and their armor was sapping her magic.

The shoved her against the post, the cold stone unforgiving as she thudded into it, the two guards bringing her arms around the post while a third approached from the other side, with chains. She cried and screamed and pulled, but she couldn't free herself before the guards had chained her wrists together on the other side of the post. The two came back around to her sides as she began to attempt to kick them, her futile resistance harmless to their thick armor and strength as they pulled at the top of her dress, pulling and tearing at it until the upper half of her body lay completely exposed to the elements and the public gathered. Lux was already crying with humiliation and fear, still trying her hardest to escape the chains that bound her, her cries raising in volume as her efforts redoubled when she heard the tell-tale sound of the dreaded whip behind her.

All the while, the crowd was sounding their approval. A city of justice truly, when the public cheered at the sight of a helpless young maiden being shorn of her modesty and about to be subjected to cruel torture.

Lux told herself she would not scream, as much as she could, she would push down the urge. And then, the whip cracked, the first stroke of the petricite barbed lash striking across her back, and all sense and thought flew out of Lux faster than the scream that rent out of her throat. The agony was indescribable, a line of pure fire across her back, the warmth of her blood doing nothing to sooth the burn as the poison of the petricite entered her bloodstream.

She screamed once more at the second stroke, and the third, and the fourth. Every time, she thought it was impossible for a person to feel this much pain, and feel any more than what she was already feeling. And then the next crack would come, painting a new line over her back, and raising her pain to heights even further. Several times she passed out from the pain of it, only to be snapped back to consciousness and reality by the next strike. There was no blessed relief from this, no falling into shock or unconsciousness. She had to feel every waking moment, and every single lash of the fifty that was bestowed upon her.

When it was finally over, Lux knew this was the end. A pool of blood had already formed beneath her, and most of the pale skin of her front was covered with streaks and rivulets of blood. She didn't even want to know what her back looked like. It had finally stopped, and finally she was slowly wavering to unconsciousness. Her mouth tasted of blood. Somewhere among the screams, she had torn her throat up with the force and repetitions of it, and blood was trickling down to her lungs now that she had stopped spewing it out with every scream. She knew this was it. She would fall unconscious from the pain, and in a day or two, she would die from the blood loss as well as the petricite poisoning.

She thought about Quinn. Her only friend in the present world. She hoped Quinn hadn't seen this, and wouldn't blame herself for it. After all, Lux getting information from Quinn had started her on this path.

She thought about Garen. Her big brother. He had changed. He had become blinded by his devotion to the country, and thus, he had lost his little sister whom he proclaimed to have adored the most. Would be regret everything? Would he feel responsible? Truth be told, Lux found that she didn't blame him. He did a lot of things wrong, but it wasn't his fault. It was Demacia's.

And, finally, she thought of Kayn. She thought of the last few days she had spent with him. The happiness. The joy. The desire. The sadness. Everything that had filled with with the feeling of being alive. His cocky grin. The hues of his mismatched eyes. The emotions behind them that Lux would always see whenever he looked at her. His voice as he called her name in a condescending tone. In a coy tone. In a worried tone. In a caring tone, one she had never heard. And his last words to her, ofcourse.

" _You're a star. And me? I'm nothing but a shadow."_

Lux wondered what would happen to the shadow when the star died, taking its light with it. Could shadows exist without light? As the guards began to haul Lux's limp body away, her last thoughts were of the first night they met… And in a morbidly humorous way, her delirious mind found it sad for him that she broke her promise. Apparently, she wouldn't be dying on her seventh day after all. She would be dying on her fourth.

' _I'm sorry Kayn.'_ Were the last thoughts in her mind before it darkened, along with the rest of her world.


	13. Chapter 13

**Reviews are appreciated**

 **~Wings**

* * *

The mug hit the bar with a resounding thud. He waited. Nothing happened.

"Bartender? I recall saying that if my mug is empty, you fill it up." He said angrily as the bartender walked over to take his mug.

"Watch your tone lad." The bartender said gruffly. He growled, splaying his left hand on the counter, his metal claws carving a groove through the wooden tables, flexing in a way that definitely showed that it wasn't just a gauntlet. The bartender paled at the sight of that.

"Ale. Your finest. Don't let my mug go empty again." Kayn said with a smile laced with a razor sharp lethality. The bartender hurried off and within a few seconds, he came back with a full mug, putting it in front of Kayn and retreating quickly, casting another wary look at Kayn before turning his attention to other customers.

It was already midday and Kayn had been sitting here in this dingy tavern bar for the last… Kayn couldn't even be bothered to count. He'd been here since before the sun even rose, right after poofing from Lux's house. And here he had been, drowning himself in liquor while brooding over whether or not he did the right thing or not.

Luxanna Crownguard. Now that was an issue. Kayn had spent years training under the harshest teacher of all time, doing the hardest things to prove his worth… And yet, this girl proved to be his greatest challenge. Half the time, he couldn't stand her insistently stubborn personality and sharp intelligence, while the other half, he was drawn to her like a like a flame to a wick. Was that a strange analogy spouting from hours spent drinking and a muddled mind? Perhaps, but it made sense. A flame could not sustain itself, and hung to the wick to burn. That is what Kayn felt when he was with her.

Years of training, years of practice, years of being a disciplined killer. All of those went out the window whenever he was near her, whenever he was with her. But, she was the wick. He was the flame. He knew it. He was destined for greatness, already having achieved more than hundreds, if not thousands. He was a fire that burnt bright, and that meant he would burn up anyone too close to him. Every moment he spent hear her, he felt a growing hatred. Hatred for himself, for being who he was. Her laughter, clear and pure, the laugh of a woman unburdened with blood on her hands. Her joy, a light that bloomed and blossomed, lighting up everything around her. Her sadness, so foreign to his, yet so similar. They were of two worlds, two lives. He was someone who had to wrench everything he had from the claws of Life. She was someone who had been held against her will for the entirety of her life.

And then her heart. Oh where could he begin?

Kayn slammed his mug down. Almost instantly, the bartender appeared with a full mug, trading it for his empty one. Kayn offered the man a snake's smile. He stared down at the golden liquid.

The girl was a beautiful disaster. He had never expected to meet someone like that, and to top it off, she basically proclaimed her everlasting love for him. For someone like him. He wasn't an idiot, he knew he was a damn good looker. But that's for fucking, not for loving. Her attraction to him scared him, not because of what might happen, but because of what could happen to her. She didn't know him well enough. He was a killer, flat. Nothing more, nothing less. Killing was what he did best. She wasn't a killer. She didn't have the blood of hundreds staining any fair part of her. If he accepted her feelings, he'd be dragging her into his life, into this mess of blood and death. He didn't want that. He didn't want that for her.

He only wanted the best for her, because it was during these hours drinking, as well as during all the time he spent with her, that Kayn realized he had begun to fall in love with this stubborn, annoying little creature. He had spent most of his life trying to find a reason. For the longest time, he thought his reason was to become the greatest assassin that ever lived. Yet, it seemed a fool's goal, for everytime he got closer to it, it seemed farther away, and he was never satisfied.

Yet, with her… It made sense. Everything did. He didn't want anything when he was with her. He just wanted to live that lie as much as he could, to spend time with her. But, well, that was gone now. He had done the right, albeit hard, thing and fucked it up. He was an assassin hired to kill her, _by her_. And she was just a girl who didn't know how stupid or beautiful she really was.

Kayn put his empty mug down again, the expression on his face somber. He was about to bang the mug again when he heard a clamour in the tavernfolk behind him. A few more hours had passed while Kayn had been brooding and mulling over his thoughts and it was farther into daytime. A bunch of commoners were all gathered around a table, loudly discussing something.

"...Is the wildes' thing, I reckon!"

"No way, Jar! Ya must've heard wrong."

"I swear on me mum, Bill. Why would I be hearin' these 'tings wrong? I didn't even need'ta hear it, I saw 'er being dragged down main street with me very own eyes."

"Poor lass. I 'member her around the city. She was always nicer than all those other snobby nobles."

"Aye, I'll miss the young miss. She'd always buy me apples from me shop, and always gib my sorry self a bright smile. Always made me day better, she did."

Kayn stood up, walking over to the table. The men all looked at him, somewhat alarmed and nervous.

"What's going on?" He asked.

"Oh lad," One of the men said, relief on his face when he realized Kayn was only asking about the topic, " Haven't ya heard? Young Miss Crownguard got found out for bein' a mage. She got pulled into the Hall of Judgement to be tried. It's already over by now, I reckon…"

Kayn didn't hear the rest of it. He was already moving out of the tavern, his heart pounding harder than it ever had. He just began to run, run and run down the street.

The door to the townhouse he had been living with her banged open from the force of his entry.

"LUX!" He yelled, running through the house, going into the dining room, the library, the bedrooms, even the bathrooms. There was no sign of her. The house had an odd coldness and stillness to it, signs that no one had been here for a while. Which meant she must've left after their argument.

"FUCK!" He shouted, punching a wall with his left hand. The wall shuddered, but the solid brick and marble construction barely even cracked. This was the worst thing that could've happened. He had fucked up majorly. For all he knew, he had essentially influenced her. What had she done? Did she just go out into the street and expose her magic? Did she attack someone?

Where was the hall of justice? What had they done to her? Was it too late?

The front door creaked open, and Kayn instantly turned, straightening up, hope lighting in his chest. But it instantly vanished, replaced with a predatory stillness when he saw an unknown person at the door. It was a slender woman, with dark raven hair cut short. Her eyes looked red, as if she had been crying.

"Who are you?" Kayn asked.

"Someone who needs your help." She said.

…

Her name was Quinn. She was Lux's best friend. Lux's only friend, if Kayn had to reckon. And she had seen everything.

Quinn told him about it. Every harrowing second of it. With every little detail that Quinn told him, Kayn felt his grip on his sanity loosening further and further. His anger began to boil, as did the pool of acid that was his self-loathing. He did this. He was the cause of this.

But there was one piece of hope.

"She's still alive, but not for long." Quinn said, brushing the tears out of her eyes and putting on a brave mask, the face of a Ranger. "And I'm ashamed to say that I won't be able to help her here. I need you."

Kayn didn't know how much this woman knew about him. She was a spy, that was certain, but she was also Lux's friend. He didn't know if he could even trust her. But, it was his only shot.

"Tell me what I need to do."

…

The sun had set. The sky was lit up by a crescent moon, which wasn't ideal but far better than anything brighter. The baleful light reflected dully of the white petricite cliff face that the Demacian Magehold was built within. A literal mountain, with the prison carved inside of it, the perfect prison to hold mages, petricite all around them. Unrefined, yes, so it didn't absorb their strength, but it was impervious to any magic they might unleash upon it. It was impenetrable by any mage or magic, and the gates were heavily guarded. There was no physical way into the prison without getting caught.

It was a good thing that Kayn didn't need a physical way. And also a good thing that his powers weren't exactly magic. The art of shadows blended the line between magic and science, and when Kayn's darkin taint was added to the mix due to his relation with Rhaast… Well, he had no difficulty literally phasing through the solid anti-magic walls of the Hold, passing unseen in the darkness as nothing but a shadowy flicker. He moved with a measure of haste, looking through cell by cell to find her. It was a large hold, and he didn't have much time.

He almost passed by a seemingly empty cell, but a glimmer of gold caught his attention. He passed into the room, and his knees buckled in horror as he became solid again, his mouth open. Lux was lying on the floor on her side, still breathing albeit faint. Her golden hair was half stained with dried blood, and she was topless, her dress torn down to the waist. Her back…

Kayn could feel his teeth threatening to crack under the pressure that he clenched them with. He couldn't waste time. He had to save her. What Quinn had told him… It was his only hope.

 _Rhaast._

…

 _Rhaast._

 _ **Yes?**_

The demonic entity within him purred. Kayn gritted his teeth. He apparently didn't even need to say anything, because Rhaast then asked, _**What shall you give me, Kayn?**_

 _What do you want?_

 _ **You know what I want. Is her life worth it?**_

Kayn looked down at Lux. She seemed so small in this state. Broken, lying in a pool of her own hadn't even patched her up. The parts of her skin that wasn't covered in blood had already turned a deathly shade of pale.

"Yes." He whispered.

He picked her up with a gentleness that surprised even himself, for once, his demonic arm fully under his control. He walked to the wall that only possessed a small barred window. He felt a red glow beneath his skin as he was infused with the darkin's power. He could phase through walls himself easily enough… But to take another person with him, he had to have done it.

"I'm sorry Lux." He whispered to her comatose form. "I'm sorry I couldn't be better."

He phased through the wall with her, power coursing through his veins. Stepping through, he ended up on the other side of the wall.

And promptly fell off the side of the cliff.

It was a long way down, but Kayn didn't even react, falling feet first, holding Lux close to his chest, one hand behind her neck ,the other one around her knee.

The impact of the landing should've shattered every single bone in his body, should've splattered him on the ground like a rotten egg. But he landed with barely a noise, although the ground shook and cracked beneath him, his knees bending with the force, but he remained standing. This much power… It was unbelievable.

He moved quick, phasing in and out of shadow, barely visible aside from a wisp of red tinted shadow. It took him almost no time before he was out of the walls, out of the city and inside of the noble's area, inside of that fateful forest.

Finally, he approached that fateful pond, the one where he had met her for the first time. The pond where their lives had crossed and changed.

He walked over to the pond, holding her broken form, her breath almost gone, the pulse in her veins barely a thrum. He walked into the pool of water, his skin steaming as it met the cool liquid, but he walked deeper into it, until it was up to his waist.

"I love you too." He whispered to unhearing ears, before he eased his hold on her, and allowed Lux to sink beneath the surface of the pond.

* * *

There was no light. There was no dark. There was simply a place that wasn't a place. A darkness so profound that it wasn't dark. A light so bright that it couldn't be a light. She felt nothing yet she felt everything. She couldn't see or hear, yet she sensed all. Was this what it was like after death?

And then, she felt warmth. Warmth surrounding her, filling her from the inside out, from the outside in. What was this? Was this death?

No… Everything was fading. Wherever she was, it was fading. Suddenly, she felt choked. She couldn't breathe. What was happening? Why was there pain and suffocation after death? Why couldn't she breathe? Her lungs burned, her back burned.

Her limbs felt like lead. She put all the force she could muster and moved them, kicking them out haphazardly. She tore her mouth open with the force of her will, and breathed.

Water flooded into her lungs, and Lux panicked, flailing until her head broke through the surface of the pond. She coughed, sputtering and spitting out the water that had been in her lungs, blinking as her bleary vision slowly cleared.

Alive. She was alive… But how? She looked down at her arms, moving her fingers, feeling them. Her back still burned, but it wasn't the same kind of pain. There was also a curious kind of warmth, all around her, yet focused on her back. She was at the pond. The pond, her secret getaway… But how?

Lux turned, trying to get her bearings, and as she turned around, she found herself face to face with none other than Kayn. Her breath froze, one hand came up to her open mouth in shock. He only looked at her, relief in his eyes but also a strange kind of weariness.

She swallowed, and spoke, a single word that came out like a hoarse croak, "How?"

He gave her a grim smile. It was barely even a smile, to be honest.

"This pool. It's a healing spring." He said.

Lux was even more confused than ever. This pond was a healing spring? But… How?

The more she thought, the more she realized it made sense. She had always come here in her moments of sorrow, and she had always felt better when she was within this pond. Had it always been healing her sorrows and inner wounds without her knowing?

The events of everything that had happened came back to her in a rush and in a slow trickle at the same time. The judgement. The whipping. The sentence.

Tears finally came out of her eyes as she looked at Kayn.

"You came back for me." She whispered.

"I did." He replied. "I always will. No matter where." He promised.

She closed the distance between them and kissed him. Her joints still ached, her back still burned, but she needed this. She wanted this. And he responded almost instantly, their kiss of passion and love and survival. She didn't even care that she was nude up from the waist. All she cared about was him.

The kiss broke, and Lux opened her eyes to see Kayn staring down at her with a bittersweet kind of expression.

"It's okay… I'm alive. You saved me." She whispered, trying to ease his mind.

"I know." He said, and his mood only seemed to get worse.

"What's wrong?" She asked, raising a hand to his face. She flinched, her hand withdrawing in shock. His skin was burning. She only just then realized that the mist around the pool, it was coming from him. He was steaming up the lake.

She fixed a look of alarm on him, her senses clearer now. "Kayn? What's happening?"

"A life for a life." He said, slowly stepping away from her. "I'm sorry Lux."

"What did you do?" She asked, her voice still weak and quiet sounding despite her urgency.

"There was no other way. I had to save your life." He said, turning away from her. "I only ask that you remember me."

"Kayn-"

At that moment, there was a sudden rush of sounds around them, foliage being shifted, twigs being stepped upon. And an entire squad of soldiers rushed into the clearing.

"There she is." One of the men, apparently the captain of the squad, said. All the soldiers readied their halberds around them. "You are hereby under arrest for attempting to escape with a high value prisoner. Submit or…" The man's voice died out as Kayn slowly walked out of the pool. He held out his left arm, and reality itself seemed to rend apart for a moment as a great scythe appeared in his hand. Upon the scythe, was a large demonic eye, open in earnest.

Kayn convulsed, before drawing his head back and roaring an inhuman sound, a sound that Lux recognized with horror. And then, he moved.  
Lux had never seen Kayn fight. She had never even imagined him fighting, or killing. She knew it was what he did best, but this… This was insane. Kayn was nothing but a blur of red, slicing through the soldiers like a farmer harvesting wheat. The cries of men dying filled the clearing, and everytime Lux got a glimpse of Kayn, he appeared less and less like… Kayn.

Finally, all 29 members of the squad who had found them lay dead, mutilated and dismembered, pieces of their body lying everywhere, except for the Captain, who lay on the ground, crawling backwards, holding the stump that had been his right arm.

"W-What are you?" he cried.

"Rhaaaaaast." Kayn said in a growled hiss, approaching the figure menacingly before swinging his scythe. The man's scream was cut short as his head toppled off. All the while, Lux stood with her hands over her mouth, holding back her scream at the horror of the scene in front of her.

"K-Kayn?" She managed to say.

Kayn perked, cocking it's head, before turning around to face her, and Lux had to hold back a scream once more. Any sign of Kayn was gone, replaced by a demonic entity with two massive horns protruding from it's head, a skull like visage of metal and flesh on its face. Its body was bulging with red muscle, pieces of the same strange metal protruding from certain areas like natural body armor. This was no longer Kayn. It was the darkin, Rhaast.

"Ah, the girl." He purred, seeming to grin although that wasn't possible for his face. He approached the pond.

"Kayn." She said again.

"Kayn isn't here right now, please leave a message." Rhaast said, stopping at the edge of the pond and holding out his free hand at her. There was a distortion in the air, and Lux suddenly felt herself being lurched forward and up, pulled up to him by an unseen force until his clawed hand was wrapped around her throat, holding her up off her feet.

"Or, actually, how about you take your message to him, along with one of my own." Rhaast said in that drawling growl of his.

"Kayn, I know you're in there. You must fi-" Lux couldn't continue as Rhaast tightened his hold on her throat.

"Oh, no, I'm afraid he's not in here." Rhaast said, his scythe disappearing as his other hand came over to her. Lux fought not to shudder as he trailed the point of his forefinger's claw down her cheek. "Such a delicate face, with such delicate skin." He purred, his claw going down her throat, passing her pulse, down her collarbone before it came to a rest over her sternum, right over her pounding heart.

"Such fear… I can taste it already."

"Kayn…" She struggled to whisper, holding onto the arm that held her by the neck so she didn't choke, helpless to stop the demon.

"He gave himself over to me to save you, you know." Rhaast said mockingly. "Poor fool didn't realize I would just kill you anyway after I got his body." Rhaast pushed his claw, sinking just the tip of his claw into her skin, causing a rivulet of blood to draw out.

"Shall I carve out this heart that Kayn loved so dearly for him?" Rhaast asked, musing for himself. "I think I shall."

"Kayn… You promised… N-no matter… Where… I promise too…" Lux managed to say, moving one hand away from holding onto Rhaast's arm and putting it on Rhaast's chest. "I will… find you… No matter where." Lux whispered, her oxygen supply dying out from the pressure on her throat.

"How touching." Rhaast said sarcastically.

And then light exploded and Lux found each and every molecule in her body burning away as she pushed everything she had left into Rhaast, her scream mixing with Rhaast's roar.


	14. Chapter 14

**If you are a follower of this story, please note that I updated multiple chapters at once, starting from chapter 10, in case you skipped over here.  
Author's note at the end.**

 **~Wings**

* * *

Garen stood alone, his sword planted on the ground in front of him, hilt gripped by both of his arms. He had been standing vigil for the past 14 hours, and he still couldn't come to grips with it. His eyes, which had been watering for so long, only held a dryness mixed with a feeling of being lost.

He stood in front of a gravestone. His eyes had been reading it so many times, he already had it memorized.

'Here lies Luxanna Crownguard. Beloved daughter, sister and friend.'

He blamed himself. How could he not? He had been to blind to see what the nation was turning him into, what he allowed himself to be turned into… And because of it, he had been misled, and lost one of the most important things in his life. It had been three days since her death, and it still felt as raw as it ever did. He doubted he would ever get over this wound.

"I'm sorry Luxanna." He whispered, the first words he had spoken since his vigil began. He closed his eyes and lowered his head, feeling the rain soaking his cheeks, even as the sun set in the horizon with clear skies above.

…

Quinn stood at the edge of the pond, looking down at the small bouquet of flowers she had put on one of the larger, flatter rocks. This had been Lux's little area of peace. She had always come here in secret, but Quinn had always known about this location, about this healing spring. There was rarely a thing in Demacia that she didn't know as a Ranger.

And yet, even though she had known about this, she had played ignorant. For her friend, for Lux. A gift, to give her something of her own. And it had saved her life in the end.

Quinn still felt responsible. She couldn't help it. She was at the beginning of this fateful path, and she could've stopped it if she had simply refused. But her love for her friend had overtaken the concern, and it had led to this end.

"It's getting late." A deep voice said behind her. Quinn closed her eyes, wiping them quickly to make sure she hadn't teared up again.  
"You shouldn't be here." She said, not turning around. She still felt him walk closer to her, until he was standing right behind her, looking down over her shoulder at the flowers on the rock.

"I shouldn't do a lot of things, but I still do." He said with a hint of ironic humor to it. There was a few moment's silence before he spoke once more, his voice more sincere now although it was hard to tell given the monotone nature of his speech, "You did everything you could."

"I know." Quinn whispered, leaning back, allowing herself to take comfort in the hooded man's presence. "I'll miss her. I'll miss her a lot." She added.

"The horses are waiting." The man said to her softly. Quinn simply nodded. The man drew his arms around her, giving her a loose embrace of comfort as they both stared down at the flowers.

…

The horse nickered at each other briefly as the two riders rode down the street, the port town in sight.

"Finally." The man said. "My ass hurts from all this riding."

"Always something to complain about." The woman said in a bemusedly annoyed way.

"You like my complaining." he responded.

"I like a lot of things about you." She replied. But, before he could answer to that, she added, "Doesn't change the fact that you're an ass."

"Oh please, you're gonna be begging this 'ass' to help you once we get to Ionia and you don't understand anything." The man said. The woman seemed to think upon this with a loud "Hmm," before she shrugged, looked over at him and then said, "Guess I'll ask for a horse instead of an ass next time then."

She laughed as she spurred her horse forward, the man staring after her in mild shock, before snorting out a short laugh as he too spurred his horse, shaking his head. They reached the town within the next half hour, and already found a nice looking inn that didn't seem like it'd be crawling with bugs.

The woman waited patiently as the man sold off their horses, before joining him and going into the inn. "Are you sure this is a good idea?" She asked again, for perhaps the hundredth time.

"Yes." He said simply, as they walked up the stairs towards their rented room. She held her tongue until they were inside and they had closed the door.

"Aren't they going to be looking for you?" She finally said in a somewhat exasperated tone.

"Aren't they already looking for you?" He said simply, shrugging at her as he peeled off his cloak, revealing the absurdly long dark hair that was tied into a tight ponytail, although there were still a lot of shaggy bangs around his face. He turned around, giving the woman a cocky grin as he winked one of his mismatched eyes. "Relax. Anyone who comes looking for us isn't gonna be looking at anything anymore." He said.

The woman huffed, unlacing her cloak as well as she let loose a loose curtain of wavy hair that shone like strands of gold, even in the dim hextech lighting of the room. "I don't want any deaths on my account." She said sternly as the man raised his hands placatingly.

"Hey, I never said anything about killing them." He supplied.

The woman looked at him with eyes like sapphire, which she promptly rolled. "No maiming either. Or blinding. Or mutilating. Or torturing. Or gelding. Or-"

"Alright alright, you bloody nag." He said, although the cocky grin was still on his face. The girl looked at him and huffed. "You're gonna do it anyway." She said.

"Damn right." He answered.

She crossed her arms.

He walked over to her, with a small chuckle. "I'm joking." He said, as his voice turned more serious, "I wouldn't do anything that could risk you."

The woman's stern expression softened as she looked up at his face. A small smile played on her lips as she said, "Well, you don't have to worry about that. Besides, you have something to do."

"Do I?" He asked, his voice lower as well.

"Today's the seventh day. Aren't you supposed to take my life today, Kayn?" She said. He snorted.

"You're already dead. Can't take what you don't have, now can I? I'll have to take something else from you." He answered.

"Well, I'm afraid I don't have much to give." She said, her voice a measure more demure now.

"That's where you're wrong, Lux." Kayn said softly as his scarred left hand rose up, caressing her cheek with his slender fingers. "You are everything to me. We promised each other, didn't we? We'd find each other, no matter where."

"We did." Lux whispered.

"Where are you?" He asked, his voice equally soft.

"With you."

"Have I ever told you how much I love your eyes?" He said, his eyes scanning both of hers. "They're such a strange shade of blue… I always find myself staring and I can't figure out how… lovely they are-"

Lux swallowed, staring unblinkingly up at him as he spoke. "Kayn?" She interrupted him softly. Kayn stopped, and then Lux gave him a small smile and said, "Just shut up and kiss me, stupid."

Kayn blinked, before giving her a smile back, right before they kissed each other.

* * *

 **Chapters 10 to 14 were all posted on the same day, which is March 1st. If you are wondering why, consider it a parting gift from me. I am not sure if I will be able to write much longer, so this might be my last story for a long time, if not longer.**

 **This story began as nothing more than a doodle in my head, an idea in my mind. The basest form, of a shadow and a light in harmony. It's where the title comes from, Moj Cien, which means "My Shadow". I wanted it to somewhat represent how, in our darkest times, we can find someone or something that makes it bearable.**

 **I hope you all enjoyed the story. The next part of this author's note is for one specific person only, so most of you won't understand it and are free to ignore it, or not if you want to read it. To all of you, I bid thee farewell until next time, if there is any.**

...

 **And for you, the one person. You know who you are. I want you to keep reading.**

 **This story was one you loved, I remember every moment of it. We talked about it so much, and you loved watching me write it and talking about it with me. Even if you loved most of my other work, I know this was the one you loved the most. Because it was the story we made together, in a sense. And that is where it brings us. The event that happened... I have no words for it. I still wear the necklace everyday, and everyday I keep touching it, reading the words with my fingertips. "No matter where." It says. Everyday, I can feel the link, the bridge to its twin. And everyday, it tears me up inside. I wonder, do you still wear it? I'm still alive, still living, but I can't move on from this. I don't think I ever will. For someone who has lost so much, I know when I have lost it all. And you were my all. And I lost you. It will remain my biggest regret. I'm sorry for a lot of things, but mostly I'm sorry that I couldn't be better. That I couldn't be better for you, despite how much I tried. And I'm sorry that it came to this. Do I wish I could've avoided all of this? No. If I had the chance, I would go back and live every waking moment with you once more. The entire year we had to ourselves... It was bliss. It was life. Even if it was somewhat of a dream broken later on by harsh reality, it was still the happiest days of my life. And I would live it over and over again if I could. Do you remember that one fateful call we shared? Like then, I'm afraid I will have to be selfish once more when I say this.**  
 **I still love you. I love you and only you. Even after more than a year since we met, even after a month since we parted... I still love you. No matter where. Or when. Even if you don't feel the same anymore, and even if you decide to hate me. I will still love you. Every part of you, from your eyes to your smile, from your laughter to your sorrow. Whether you were talking about Kpop, or playing with your dog. All the parts that made me happy, and all the parts that made me sad.** **All these memories are what I cherish deepest in my soul.** **I love every ounce of you. You are the only one I have loved this much, and you are the only one I shall ever love this much. No one else will ever take your place. No one else can ever even hope to take your place.**

 **Like the words on that bracelet; Zawsze będę twój. Teraz i na zawsze. Kocham cię, moje światło w ciemności.**

 **Your last wish was for me to complete this story, for me to give them the happy ending you wanted. That's the only thing that kept me writing this, kept me working on this through day and night. And I give this to you, with the confessions of my heart that I'm too afraid to tell you directly about. I don't know if you read all of this, or even if you still have any feelings left for me. I don't expect anything from you. I just want you to know that I will always be here, and I will always wait for you. If the day ever comes when you seek me out and I am still here, I will answer. No matter where, that was and is my vow. Call me a fool, but I've always been a fool for you. And I will continue to be.** **  
**

 **Happy birthday, Moj malenkivoyn.  
I wish you all the happiness for the year to come, and the ones that follow.  
I love you.**


End file.
